[bgcolor=black]Year: 1815

A door softly closed behind the exhausted redhead. She leaned against the door, letting her exhaustion show through a very heavy sigh of relief. She reached in her pocket and grabbed a crumbled up piece of paper. Next month’s shopping list. She groaned and got off the door, beginning her trek through Rukongai.

As she began to walk she reached a hand into her other pocket, perhaps she had just enough to buy herself something nice.

…wrong…

Perhaps then, it was a sign; that just…window shopping would have to do today. Yes, window shopping it was. She grumbled a few unkind words towards the family in which she constantly spent money on but…

A hand rested on her right hip, barely touching the top of a tattoo. It was her way of paying them back, for Tsuru’s death. She reached up and ran her hand through her bangs, her scar visible for a second or two. She was still a third seat, so the tattoo on her left arm was constantly visible. No armband to hide her “rebel”ness.

Finally! She grinned brightly as she approached several shops with large windows. A little girlish squeak came from her lips and she ran to the nearest window.

Like a child she face planted the window, a large smile upon her lips as she stared up at the dresses in the window. It was very pretty red and sparkly, her eyes wandered over to the price tag hanging off the side of the dress. Her heart sank.

Even with the money I make, I could never afford that! What a rip off! I should talk to the manager of the store about this! How can anyone in Rukongai even afford this?! How does this store make money?! She continued to rant off in her head as she walked away from that window and on to the next.

She passed a few more windows, only temporarily gazing at them. Passing a small window, she stopped in her tracks, turning around and staring at the window with love in her eyes. A smile larger than her face appeared. In the window were fighting gloves, with brass knuckles. She face planted this window, as she had done the first window.

Her heavy breathing had fogged up the window, she raised her hand up, wiping two eye holes in the messy window and she continued to peer lovingly at the gloves. She looked at the price tag and made a sort of pleased animal noise and she pried herself from the window. She HAD to have enough! It was cheap!

Pulling the few coins she had in her pocket, her eyes began to water slightly. I can’t even buy gloves…

She pouted and sulked, turning around she plopped her back against the window. Maybe…I can afford chocolate ice cream… She sniffled and rubbed her nose like a child. Chocolate fixes everything, right?

EVERYBODY QUAKE IN FEAR FOR RYUU THE SMILING MAN WAS HERE. Except he wasn't really murdering people at the moment. Nor was he causing large amounts of collateral damage. BUT INSTEAD HE WAS SKIPPING AROUND MOST THREATENINGLY. In fact one could even say that he was HAPPILY FROLICKING AROUND WITHOUT A CARE IN THE WORLD. Mostly because Ryuu didn't really have anything that he cared about. EXCEPT FOR THE FROLICKING BECAUSE THAT WAS FUN.

Having disguised his face in bandages (as usual) Ryuu found himself in the third district. But then a HORRIFYING DISASTER SOON APPROACHED THE POOR HOMOCIDAL MURDERER. For the frolicking was..BEGINNING TO GET A BIT OLD. NOW WHAT WOULD HE DO TO ENTERTAIN HIMSELF?

Stopping on the sidewalk, Ryuu soon found himself near a candy store. "Perhaps I can get a snack." Ryuu thought to himself as he pondered the question of what to do next.

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Arashi lazily drug her feet along the ground, her shoulders hunched over and her head limply hanging. No money, no dress, no gloves, no happiness. Must have chocolate…must eat chocolate to refuel happiness. Arashi felt herself drowning in the depression of being so ridiculously poor she couldn’t afford anything!

Finally she found herself approaching what she assumed to be some sort of candy or ice cream store. She needed to inspect things before she entered, to make sure she was safe of being even more emotionally crushed by her poor-man’s depression. Like a zombie she walked into the window of the store and slid her cheek across the window, weakly groaning as she did so. She spotted some ice cream in the store, yes! Ice cream! With her face awkwardly scrunched in the window, she smiled softly, being rewarded with some awkward glances from customers in the store.

She couldn’t help but notice from the corner of her eye, some fool frolicking? Who frolics in a time of grief like this? And happily none the less?! She felt like storming over there and slapping the fool who frolicked during grieving time. But no…she must…digest the cold creaminess of chocolaty goodness! Slapping happy fools would be dealt with when she could be the happy fool to slap them! Yes! That made sense!

Arashi then proceeded to slowly peel herself from the window; a sort of suction cup-y sound came from her as her face was finally released from the cursed glass. She moaned softly, seeming more like a zombie now than ever. She drug herself into the store, looking around aimlessly as people stepped away from her.

“Ice cream…” She muttered, only one thing on her mind.

She finally got to a frozen area, the cold chill of all the awaiting ice creams called to Arashi, giving her the bumpiest of gooses. She carefully examined each carton of ice cream, waiting to see her glorious chocolate. She had a pleased smile plastered on her face. Nothing could falter this smile! As her eyes reached the last carton she expected to see big bold letters declaring chocolate but no…instead it said strawberry…and Arashi hates strawberry!!!

“What nonsense is this?!” She turned to a random customer, grabbing their shirt. “Where is the chocolate ice cream?!” She screamed in the poor man’s face.

She let go of him, watching him stammer over his words, whimper and then crawl away like an insect. Arashi slowly sank to her knees, staring at the dark floor beneath her. That was her last chance at happiness and…it was ruined, shattered right before her and there was nothing she could do. Nothing she could ever do. Arashi no longer had the ability to smile.

She tried to crack out a smile but instead caused some little child to cry and run to his mother who in return proceeded to quickly drag her three children out of the store. How could Arashi ever be happy again?

As Ryuu continued to ponder this QUESTION OF THE AGES the score was soon settled for him. FOR RYUU'S STOMACH MADE A RUMBLING NOISE. Deciding that he might as well try to find some sweets (preferably the type that wouldn't have him vomit uncontrollably in a few hours), Ryuu approached the store and entered it a few moments after the crazy lady took her face off the window.

Keeping his distance Ryuu managed to keep in his snickering as the woman went around yelling at random people about chocolate ice cream. Was actually quite hilarious to watch. BUT RYUU HAD MORE PRESSING THINGS TO DEAL WITH. Notably feeding himself. And thus Ryuu looked at the menu and all of its WIDE VARIETY OF DIFFERENT FOODS. "I would like some chocolate covered bacon please." Ryuu said. AND THUS RYUU WOULD WHISTLE A CHEERFUL TUNE TO PASS THE TIME.

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Arashi still had the creepy smile on her face. She then realized how odd she must have seemed so she tried playing it off by coughing awkwardly. She looked around; sure she had scared all the customers away. Then, by god, someone spoke!

Arashi’s eyes widened and her ears twitched as she heard him say Chocolate covered…

Perhaps there was some chocolate left in this world that was better when not icy and creamy. Perhaps Arashi could smile again. Perhaps she could be happy!!!

Then a retched sound from the pit of her throat as it finally sunk in what he had said. Chocolate covered bacon. Bacon. Ew. The sound she made sounded as if a dog were choking on its food. She stuck out her tongue and shook her head, disgusting. Sweet meat? Ew.

She slowly turned her head to look at the man and noticed that there was a menu. Perhaps…chocolate existed on that menu! She then allowed her tongue to once again enter her mouth and she stood up, dusting off her legs then turned around. She walked next to the man and looked up at the menu carefully, trying to act as “cool” as possible.

She couldn’t help but lay a few glances on the man. She couldn’t help but notice how he had bandages on his face. She looked back to the menu, barely reading over it but instead now she thought of why he had bandages on his face.

What could have happened to his face? The face was an odd area to have wounds on. Well…in her case it was. To be bandaged…it must be pretty recent, maybe he was attacked by a hollow…

But then, Arashi’s creativity struck.

Or, what if he is some sort of badass ninja and in a ninja fight the foe ninja cut his face to spite him so he could never show his face in public again and thus he was nicknamed Mask! For the fact that he goes out and fights crime every day wearing masks because he is too ashamed to face the world with his horribly scared face. Oh my gosh, I’m standing next to a hero!

Her eyes twinkled and she was now facing the man with an incredibly large smile on her face, all the while just staring at his bandages. The smile slowly faded as she blinked a couple of times; suddenly realizing she was staring at the poor man. Once again, she tried to awkwardly play it out by clearing her throat and turning back to the menu.

She began to scan the menu once more. Her nose scrunched up when she saw Chocolate Covered Bacon and she made a sort of gurgling displeased noise. Her eyes continued down the list. Her eyes widened horrified as she saw “Chocolate Covered Strawberrys.” Her face scrunched up and she imagined biting into one of those disgusting little red demons! She stuck out her tongue once more and shivered, making a sort of Blaaaaaaah sound.

Awkward moment? Clear out your throat!

Which Arashi did once she realized she was being weird again. She then put on a real serious face and stared at the menu some more. Finally, she spoke!

“I’d like so-o-me….” She continued to stare hard at the menu. Thinking…thi-i-inking…thi-i-i-nk-i-i-ng

“Chocolate covered ants!”

It turned out that Arashi was truly correct. For Ryuu was in truth AN AWESOME HERO OF NINJA JUSTICE. Although it just so happened that his definition of justice involved a large bodycount to completely innocent people. But in truth that was just semantics. Afterall other heroes had killed their enemies in horrific ways and they would get cheered for it. In fact Ryuu would be able to recall one particularly gruesome incident that involved someone being labelled as a hero. BUT ASIDE FROM THE EXTREMELY SUBTLE FORESHADOWING OF THAT INCIDENT, THAT WAS A STORY FOR ANOTHER TIME.

Continuing to whistle his cheerful tune, Ryuu gave a sideways look at the crazy lady who was now smiling at him and staring at his bandages. Able to tell from her body language that there was some sort of fascination which suddenly turned to embarassment. Which meant that either the crazy lady was a master detective, who solved crimes through deductive reasoning and would wear a silly hat while smoking a pipe, and knew that Ryuu was an arrancar but was fascinated by them (probably due to being a crazy lady) but was also embarrassed to interact with one. Or the crazy lady was in fact a crazy lady who found the bandages interesting or attention getting but was embarassed to be caught staring. Was probably one of those two options.

Watching the crazy lady stick her tongue out at the menu before finally making her order, Ryuu was suprised about her choice. He had never actually had that before. In fact Ryuu wondered if eating chocolate covered ants would make him puke uncontrollably for a few hours due to his altered digestion system or if he could digest it fine. Insects were a kind of meat. Ryuu had eaten a few insect types of hollow during his time so those were fine. PERHAPS RYUU WOULD BE ABLE TO TRICK THIS CRAZY LADY INTO GIVING HIM SOME OF HER CHOCOLATE COVERED ANTS. In which case Ryuu would then conduct an experiment by eating the ants and seeing if he puked.

Thus Ryuu would begin to form a CUNNING AND DEVIOUS PLAN IN ORDER TO OBTAIN THE CHOCOLATE COVERED ANTS AND DEVOUR THEM FOR SCIENCE. This plan would probably involve sticking the pointy end of a sword into her gut then running off with the food. Sure that would be considered murder. But it was excusable for Ryuu was a HEROIC HERO OF NINJA JUSTICE. Plus this murder would have been comitted FOR SCIENCE.

However that was when an even more cunning and devious plan was created. Ryuu would engage the crazy lady in conversation and convince her to let him try them. THIS WAS A FAR MORE PRACTICAL PLAN. Although his first plan (codenamed Operation Stab and Run Really Fast) would still be his backup plan. "So was there a reason you were staring at me?" Ryuu asked Arashi in a curious tone of voice. AND THUS WOULD BEGIN STEP ONE OF OPERATION CONVINCE THE CRAZY LADY TO HAND OVER SOME OF HER FOOD. Although in retrospect just ordering some ants would be far easier.

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Arashi patiently awaited her yumminess of Chocolate Covered Ants. She pretended to look at the menu some more and swayed back and forth on her feet. Her fingers tapped out a song of nervousness on her pants. She felt a trickle of sweat roll down the side of her head as she tried more and more to concentrate on the menu. She felt eyes on her. Eyes of a dangerous ninja assassin…

She gulped, feeling her mouth drying as she began to crack under the stare of this expert intergationer. Then...like a rhino just locked its charging aim at her, he spoke!

Oh he just had to notice that she was staring!!! Oh how could he not notice she was staring at him for almost ten minutes…okay over exaggeration. But what was she supposed to say “I saw your bandages and thought you were some badass ninja who was in a ninja fight and got all cut up in the face and now you’re a masked super hero, ashamed to show the scares of the only fight you lost.”

Actually…if he had lost the fight then wouldn’t he be dead? Unless…there was some deeper story between it. He must have been in a ninja fight with his ninja brother, his ninja brother cut up his face and due to blood loss the good ninja passed out but because they were brothers the bad ninja couldn’t bring himself to make the final blow to take out the good ninja so he sat there and watched his brother bleed then took his brother to the hospital and was never heard from again! And maybe he searches every day for his brother, in hopes to end the ever going fight. Perhaps that is why he has fetched Chocolate covered bacon, maybe it was his favorite snack of his odd taste-budded brother and he really in truth hates it just like me! She was now staring at his face again.

Arashi, you really need to get out more.

“I, well…you see…” She looked around. I can’t tell him I thought he was a ninja…

She waited a couple of seconds trying to figure out an excuse. I could always say he looks like a ninja...but then I might offend him! What if he is sensitive about the bandages?!

“I couldn’t help but notice how beautiful your eyes are.” Arashi finally blurted out.

How beautiful his eyes are?! What are you trying to do freak him out or hook up with him?!

RYUU THE NINJA HERO'S SUPER INTENSE INTERROGATION TECHNIQUE OF ASKING A SIMPLE QUESTION HAD WORKED. Noticing the crazy lady's nervousness as he asked the question, Ryuu wondered why she was getting so nervous. Perhaps she was nervous because she had used her super sleuthing detective deduction and figured out that Ryuu was onto her. THUS THIS WOULD BEGIN A GREAT BATTLE OF WITS BETWEEN RYUU THE NINJA HERO AND THE CRAZY LADY WHO WAS A MASTER DETECTIVE.

Although a more likely answer to her nervousness would have been that she was nervous because Ryuu had caught her staring at him. But that explanation was boring. Plus it was probably smelly too. AND NO ONE LIKES A BORING AND SMELLY EXPLANATION.

However the mystery was soon solved by the master detective who gave her answer. It was quite an odd answer. However Ryuu had to admit that it was quite true. He did have very beautiful eyes. They were like two oceans in a sea of white with veins of red. Although how there could be an ocean inside of a sea was a fact that escaped Ryuu. Well that and the fact that Ryuu's eyes were grey while oceans were blue. So it could be more like a storm cloud in the middle of a sea of white with veins of red. But then that would bring up the question of how a sea could be white with veins of red.

While Ryuu was going on that mental tangent in the back of his mind, he would blink a few times in suprise (although it would look more like he was fluttering his eyelashes). Smiling at the crazy lady Ryuu then said, "Why thank you for the nice compliment. They are quite beautiful I know. Though sadly it seems like too few people notice it." It was quite kind of her to notice. Although it was certainly an odd thing to say while making a first impression. But then again Ryuu's eyes were just that beautiful.

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Arashi stared at the man with great worry in her eyes. She felt the pit of her stomach fighting against her. Her fingers were once more playing music on her pants legs. She would try to “act natural” by randomly looking at things around the shop. While her eyes freely darted across the room she began to curse herself.

Great! Arashi what if this is some creep! A masked ninja hero creep that is hunting his brother down and is eating chocolate covered bacon in the memory of his brother before they started fighting!...wow…they have really bad sibling rivalry. Perhaps they should see a family therapist for their problems…but then he wouldn’t have a villain to fight and he wouldn’t be a hero. Oh, they could beat up hollows and such, be the masked ninja’s of Rukongai…wait…why hasn’t he said anything yet? Am I really that creepy?

She eyed him carefully and jumped slightly when he finally spoke.

Awkward moment?

She cleared her throat slightly and looked off to the side. She decided it’d be wise to listen to him. Looking back at him her eye twitched a little.

Great, he is narcissistic.

In truth she hadn’t even looked at his eyes. She now wondered if his eyes were really that beautiful. Looking into his eyes she couldn’t help but notice how they were oddly grey.

Like a sky covered in grey clouds…with a little black hole in them. Wait, wouldn’t that kill everyone…

She began to ponder on the fact that a black hole would kill everyone even if it were that far away then she realized she was staring…AGAIN! She awkwardly cleared her throat out…AGAIN. She probably seemed to have a chest cold or something, with how much she kept coughing. She raised her hand up to scratch the back of her head. “So..uh…What is taking these people so long, huh?” She gave out an over friendly chuckle, even gesturing to nudge him with her elbow but realized he might not like people touching him so half way to nudge him she raised her arms and stretched, giving out a soft and faked yawn.

Deciding to ignore the crazy lady's jump after Ryuu responded to her, Ryuu figured that reaction could fit into both of his theories about her. Perhaps she thought that Ryuu might go berserk and kill everyone in the room because she knew that he knew that she knew that he was an arrancar (Although Ryuu knew for sure that wouldn't happen...afterall he would have a smile on his face if he did so). Or maybe she still thought she was being awkward (which she was being in all honesty).

BUT THEN THE CRAZY LADY WAS STARING INTO HIS EYES (undoubtedly trying some sort of deductive work...or just being in awe at the beauty of Ryuu's eyes). But then she looked away and coughed before making a comment about how long it was taking for the order to go through followed by trying a friendly elbow before stopping then more coughing which preceded some yawning. In fact Ryuu noticed that she had been coughing a lot. WHAT IF SHE WAS SICK? WHAT IF IT WAS THE DREADED (and nonexistant) YAWNING DISEASE. WHAT IF SHE HAD INFECTED RYUU WITH THE DISEASE. RYUU WAS TOO YOUNG TO DIE. HE WAS ONLY SEVERAL MILLENIA OLD.

However Ryuu's mental tangent was soon interupted by the plopping down of a bag containing his food. Then as if in answer to Arashi's statement her order was soon placed in front of her. Taking his bag and moving towards the register where he would pay for his food, Ryuu turned to Arashi and asked, "So would you like to sit together and eat. There appears to be an abundance of tables." Ryuu said. Of course the reason for all of the spare tables was due to a certain crazy lady scaring everyone off. But that didn't matter to Ryuu. FOR RYUU WAS NOW ONTO THE NEXT PHASE IN HIS DIABOLICAL AND INGENIOUS PLOT TO FREELOAD OFF OF ARASHI'S MEAL CHOICE IN THE NAME OF SCIENCE.

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Arashi now wondered how creepy she had really become to this man. Perhaps she could just take her food and leave and never return to Rukongai ever. Perhaps this ninja thought she was a spy, what if he searched for her and destroyed her. Wait…she could always go to the soutaicho! But if she went to him crying because she was being stalked by a masked ninja in Rukongai wouldn’t he think she was being a wimp…or crazy?

I can’t run to the captain for help…I must fend for myself. I can’t go back to the division, he’ll find me there..he’ll kill all my friends. Oh, I can go home! Then he can kill all my family! One less worry in my life. But in the midst of all her wonders the man spoke, bringing her out of her worry.

He wanted to eat together. Wait, had the food come? She looked to the side and sure enough there was her bag of chocolate covered ants. She reached for it, holding it carefully as if she were afraid to drop it or lose it. “Uhm…” She looked around and chuckled, sure enough she had ran everyone away. “Sure?” She questioned whether she really did want to sit with him or not but either way she stepped passed him and began her trek to the nearest table.

As it would turn out, Arashi was actually quite accurate on the whole Ryuu possibly killing everyone she cared about. Though it would be because he was bored, and not because of her weirding him out. Giving the crazy lady his usual friendly smile after she agreed to eat with him, RYUU HAD SUCCESSFULLY LURED HER INTO THE DIABOLICAL WEB THAT WAS HIS PLOT TO MOOCH OFF OF HER FOOD.

Soon it would be onto the next step. WHICH WAS THE MOST COMPLICATED AND VITAL ONE. Though first Ryuu would have to figure out what the next step was. BUT WHEN HE DID FIGURE IT OUT, RYUU WAS SURE THAT IT WOULD FIT THAT CRITERIA.

However as Arashi stepped past him in order to find a table, Ryuu realized THE TRUE SCOPE OF ARASHI'S WICKEDNESS. For she had forgotten to pay for her food. Undoubtedly she too was attempting to mooch off of Ryuu by making him pay for her food. TRULY THIS WOULD TURN INTO A GAME OF WITS AND TRICKERY AND OTHER SUBTLE THINGS THAT CAN ONLY BE PROPERLY EXPRESSED BY ALL CAPITAL LETTERS. But Arashi would be sorely mistaken if she thought that she would be able to trick Ryuu with such trickery. "Miss. You actually forgot to pay for your food." Ryuu said to Arashi before moving out of the way so she could pay for it and sitting at the closest table. AND THUS THE GAME OF WITS WOULD BEGIN.

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Arashi had just sat her food down when the mysterious masked ninja superhero spoke. Now that she thought of it she had forgotten to pay. Suddenly a sorrowful look came across her face as she remembered why she was in this store in the first place…

She turned around with a slight blush and chuckled softly, “Oh yeah, I guess it slipped my mind.” She scratched the back of her head and walked back to the counter. “How much?”

As she was told the ridiculously high price of a chocolate covered insect. She chuckled nervously and put the last of her money on the counter. She then quickly went back to the table where she had sat her food down and sat down, hiding her face a bit from the cashiers and slightly from the strange ninja man. She didn’t even acknowledge the chocolate goodness in front of her before looking up at the ninja man.

“I didn’t catch your name. I’m Arashi Shinku. 3rd Seat of the first division.” She grinned widely, a habit she had of bragging about her rank and division. She partially blamed the fact she was shunned by her family her said she’d go nowhere with herself but still, she bragged about her ranking non-the-less. It was no Fukutaicho or even Soutaicho but she was close enough, well…for now.

AND RYUU HAD WON THE FIRST ROUND OF WITS. Watching in triumph (not that it was visible on his face) as the crazy lady went back to pay for her food, Ryuu basked into his victory. But soon THE NEXT ROUND OF WITS WOULD BEGIN. In fact Ryuu would probably be correct in saying that this next round of wits WOULD AT LEAST DOUBLE THE WIT INVOLVED.

Smiling at Arashi as she sat back down, Ryuu knew that he was now one step closer to fulfilling his ultimate goal. ONE THAT RYUU WOULD CERTAINLY SUCCEED IN EVEN IF HE HAD TO CREATE A BODYCOUNT TO DO SO. "Pleased to meet you Arashi. I'm Kaito." Ryuu said to Arashi after she introduced herself.

Apparently in addition to being a crazy lady, Arashi was also a shinigami. So now Ryuu had a secondary objective due to this sudden revelation. HE WOULD CONVINCE THE LADY TO TELL HIM ABOUT BEING A SHINIGAMI. This would undoubtedly be valuable information. Plus it would also help him closer to his primary goal of mooching off of her food. But in order to accomplish either of these two objectives, Ryuu would need to make his plan at least 20 percent more devious. Along with 40 percent more tricky and at least 56.23489 percent more subtle. BUT LUCKILY RYUU HAD JUST THE PLAN THAT FIT THOSE CRITERIA. "So whats it like being a shinigami in the first division?" Ryuu asked in a curious tone of voice. AND THUS RYUU HAD TAKEN THE NEXT STEP IN HIS MADE UP ON THE SPOT MASTER PLAN.

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Arashi calmed down a little, rolling her shoulders backwards and sitting up straight. She may not look it, but Arashi wasn’t all bad. Her mother had taught her how to be lady, just Arashi chose most of the time to act like a disgusting, morally incorrect man but right now no one was screaming in her face, no one was telling her to act proper and lady-like so…in her rebellious mind, she found it fit to act like a lady.

Arashi couldn’t help but notice he didn’t mention a last name or perhaps that was his last name? Was this a man of formality? No, he called her by her first name. Perhaps he thought he was better than Arashi? Who could be better than the 3rd seat of 1st division?!...besides the fukutaicho and soutaicho… The answer is obviously none, well…in Arashi’s mind it is.

Arashi smiled sweetly at the man before her. She crossed her legs and laid her hands in her lap. If it weren’t for the Rebel tattoo on her shoulder and the lack of a shirt, she’d almost look perfectly like a lady. “Pleasure meeting you as well, Kaito.” This was perhaps the first normal thing she said, the first sign to show that maybe she was indeed…normal. Maybe.

“As for what it’s like…” She looked off to the side, fiddling with her thumbs a little. She thought of the first time she met the soutaichou. She shivered slightly but then she thought of how he was concerned about the scar on her cheek after she got into the fight with her dad.

Arashi lifted her right hand to slide under her bangs that hid the gruesome scar on her cheek. She looked up at Ryuu, or Kaito, and smiled again. Perhaps having a scar on one’s face wasn’t odd; here Arashi was with her own scar given to her from her half-sister and she was wondering how on earth anyone else to have a scar on their own face. Although, he hid his in plain sight while Arashi desperately tried to make it not noticeable that she had a scar.

“It’s nerve wracking that’s for sure. I look at Tanaka-soutaicho almost like a celebrity. He can be very intimidating like one…but he is kind. He is very kind. Also being so close to the soutaicho, sometimes ranking can go to one’s head.” She chuckled. “But luckily I haven’t let it. I don’t think I ever will.” She boomed, although it was true in fact that the ranking had already gone to her head and it was probably visible to the man sitting with her.

Observing the crazy lady after introducing himself and asking his question, Ryuu was a bit taken off guard. Afterall she did just make a rather noticeable transition from relaxed and uncaring about manners to actually behaving herself. Not only that but she was acting normal. JUST WHAT WAS HAPPENING? Was it in fact possible that this person in fact wasn't a crazy lady? The answer was no. For this must instead be a demonstration of how well she could fake normalcy in order to spice up this BATTLE OF BRAINS WITHIN THIS WAR OF WITS. But if Arashi thought that this would intimidate Ryuu then she would be sorely mistaken.

"Pleased to meet you too Arashi." Ryuu said with a cheerful smile. Watching with a concealed interest as Arashi began to formulate her answer to his question, Ryuu noticed a number of things. There was a bit of nervousness. There was also evidence of remembering past experiences. But most interesting was a scar that Ryuu observed on her cheek as she lifted her hand under her bangs. In fact with just a few more cuts Ryuu would be able to turn that scar into a nice happy smile. Although for the time being Ryuu would just have to take note of that if the conversation turned toward his own "scars" or if he needed something to egg her on.

Noticing the irony in her statement when Arashi mentioned how the rank could go to one's head, Ryuu decided to let her continue to see herself that way. "I'm glad to see that it you are able to prevent having such an important and influential position go to your head." Ryuu said with a smile. Deciding to go after a bit more information after having fed her ego, Ryuu then asked in a sincere tone of voice, "He sounds quite interesting. So can I hear a bit more about him such as how he shows his kindness or how he is intimidating? But more importantly I would like to ask about what kind of duties do you have when working with the Soutaicho? Afterall its not often that I get to eat with a shinigami." Although eating a shinigami was an entirely different matter.

While waiting for a response, Ryuu realized that he actually recognized the name Tanaka. Sure he had heard people mention the name before. Put it felt like someting more than that. Although perhaps hearing Arashi talk about him a bit more would help jog Ryuu's memory.

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When Ryuu spoke of the ranking not going to Arashi’s head she carefully examined him, wondering if he was being sarcastic because often when Arashi had told people that, they chuckled at her but when Ryuu ended his statement with no chuckle or grin of sarcasm Arashi leaned back in her chair, satisfied.

As Ryuu began to speak about Malik Tanaka Arashi looked at the table a little bit, almost as if she were zoning out. If it weren’t for the fact she was still listening to Ryuu she would have been zoning out. She was brought back to when she was first introduced to Malik, when she was first told that she was going to be working directly under the man she idolized. The memories felt like they weren’t her own, she had changed so much from then it was almost as if she were a whole new person, as if that person who first met Malik Tanaka wasn’t Arashi Shinku but instead her shy and bashful twin that disappeared and was replaced by the real Arashi Shinku.

not often that I get to eat with a shinigami

That statement caused Arashi to raise her head with a slight confusion. Shinigami were constantly around Rukongai and Arashi didn’t know many shinigami to shun a citizen. He was awfully friendly, so Arashi didn’t understand why he wouldn’t strike up a conversation randomly with a shinigami…but then again Arashi was also staring at him; perhaps he was just a lonely citizen.

“Well…” Arashi really didn’t really know where to begin. “Growing up all you hear about is Malik Tanaka, the soutaicho. At least that’s all my family spoke about. I mean, he is the Soutaicho, head of everything that is shinigami. That it’s self makes him so intimidating.” She stopped talking for a few seconds, knowing that there was a line of how much she could tell him. She quickly thought over everything she said, making sure she didn’t cross that line she continued to speak. “He is kind because…well, he treats everyone like family. When I first met him I was scared and acted like an idiot, he was fine with it. He tried to comfort me and understand why I was so scared. Even when I was hurt and getting stitches, Tanaka-soutaicho found the time to stop and check on me, make sure I was ok.” She smiled softly, recalling when he walked past the room she was in and did a double-take, asking not what had happened, but if she was alright. “As for duties…well, each division works under the soutaicho, each division has their own jobs.” She paused, once again making sure she wasn’t over stepping the line. “For those who work directly under the soutaicho, like me…” She grinned, bragging about her placement. “It’s mainly just bossing people around.” She shrugged. “Communications.” She then looked to the side, feeling a little nervous about talking about her duties.

She showed this nervousness with another awkward cough, not making eye contact with Ryuu. She then returned her eyes to the table, fiddling with her thumbs before speaking again. “Malik Tanaka is most definitely an interesting man.” She smiled softly and looked up at Ryuu, showing how fondly this tough looking girl thought of this man.

Noticing the crazy lady begin to zone out (undoubtedly due to the stress of pretending to be normal) Ryuu also noticed her confused expression when he mentioned that he didn't eat with many shinigami. Wondering why that seemed to confused her, Ryuu instead chalked it up to her being a crazy lady.

Listening to her talk about about the Soutaicho, Ryuu noticed her going over everything she said before continuing. "Seems like there are a few things she is trying to keep secret." Ryuu thought to himself as he continued to listen. But Ryuu would soon convince her to tell him what these secrets were. IT WOULD BE LIKE READING THE HIS DIARY. And then using that information to systematically destroy his life by going after everyone he knows and also posting pages of his diary out in public.

"He sounds quite interesting. So in general what kind of things do you get to tell people to do?" Ryuu once again asked in a curious tone of voice. Sure he hadn't learned anything of particular importance yet. But with the right question that might soon change. Although he was still having a hard time figuring out why hearing about the Soutaichou's name seemed so familiar.

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As he continued to ask questions Arashi narrowed her eyes slightly. He was a masked ninja super hero spy! That had to be it. That is why he was asking all these questions about the shinigami! It had to be! No one would ever be that interested in something as boring as shinigami. Although…perhaps it was just Arashi thinking that the shinigami business was boring, well…even though she was third seat in first division, she had her doubts about how exciting first division really was. Actually…there really wasn’t a lot of excitement.

“Well, I can’t really say all that first division does because I’m just a third seat. Nothing as important as the Fukutaicho or Soutaichou and I really couldn’t tell you what either of them does. I just know the Soutaicho is head of everything and the fukutaicho is like his right hand man…” She paused for a moment, her eyes shining as she spoke about the fukutaicho. A spot she only dreamed about being. After she was finished with her momentary zone out she looked back at Ryuu. She was of course not telling him everything, she wouldn’t tell him everything. She didn’t know who he was besides a masked ninja super hero spy and that in its self was enough to be weary of.

“You are so interested you haven’t even begun on your…” She paused, grimacing. “Chocolate covered bacon.”

Noticing Arashi narrow her eyes in suspicion, Ryuu wondered if he had been a bit too hasty in asking about the shinigami. WOULD THIS MINOR MISTAKE CAUSE HIM TO LOSE THIS WAR OF WITS? Well probably not but it would probably make finding out any more information more difficult. Especially given that his foe was a master detective. BUT RYUU WOULD STILL PREVAIL.

A bit curious about Arashi's remark about not doing too much, Ryuu wondered how that could be the case. She was the third in command of (from what Ryuu understood about it) the command division. Undoubtedly she was hiding facts due to being suspicious of Ryuu's mistake.

"Well it is interesting to talk to you. Besides I can say the same thing to you about not eating you chocolate covered ants." Ryuu said in response to Arashi's observation. However she did have a point. AND THUS RYUU WOULD PICK UP A PIECE OF HIS FOOD AND EAT IT. Smiling as he swallowed the food (it was crunchy) Ryuu then asked, "So how do you like yours?"

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Arashi was so relieved he didn’t carry on with the shinigami talk that she let a small sigh of relief pass her lips. Although, she had completely forgotten about her chocolate covered ants. After he spoke about her not eating her own, she blankly stared at the paper bag; almost as if she didn’t know what to do with it.

Realizing she had still yet reached into the bag when he asked her how she liked hers she tipped the bag on its side, grabbing a handful and placing on top of the bag. Once again, the blank stare returned to Arashi’s eyes. She stared at the chocolate covered ants, that more or less looked like chocolate blobs, with such confusion that it may have seemed she had no idea what she was looking at.Actually…

A blush arose on Arashi’s cheeks as she looked up at the man before her with an almost innocent smile. She twiddled her thumbs a little more, this time on top of the table. “I’ve actually never eaten any candy chocolate.” She finally admitted, looking down shamefully. “I just remember my mother resorting to chocolate ice cream when upset so that’s all I’ve ever…resorted to.” She eventually found humor in this all, she found herself leaning her forehead against her palm. She was laughing and shaking her head, it was a soft laugh that gradually became louder.

After a few moments she stopped the laughing and sat straight up. “My cousin one time bought candy cane ants and didn’t tell me what they were. So I ate them; they actually tasted good.” Why did she suddenly feel the need to tell the stranger about her mother and cousin? No idea. She continued to stare at the chocolate covered ants, almost as if she were afraid to try it.

Finally, she gave a lazy shrug and grabbed a couple in her hand. “Mama always said never dis it till you try it.” And with that she popped the chocolate insects into her mouth, not even thinking about it as she fearfully chomped down on the cooked bugs.

It was good.

It was actually good.

She swallowed and smiled up at the man before her again. A strange mixture of sweet chocolaty goodness and an almost sour punch to the tongue. She found it tasty enough to grab a couple of more and pop them in her mouth, savoring the flavor this time. After her mouth was empty she looked at Ryuu.

“Strangely tasty!” She admitted. “How is your…” Another grimace. “chocolate covered bacon?”

Watching Arashi's reaction to his statement on her not eating her food either, Ryuu after only several minutes of knowing her had come to a conclusion. She was definitely insane. That and extremely deprived, given her statement on not having eaten chocolate before. Undoubtedly she used this madness to fuel her super sleuthing abilities. But Ryuu would not lower his guard just because she was insane.

"Still no reason to deprive yourself of other options though." Ryuu said in response to Arashi's statement. Continuing to listen, Ryuu gave a curious look when she mentioned candy cane ants. For that was also a new idea that he had heard of. BUT NOW RYUU HAD A SECOND VARIABLE FOR HIS SCIENCE EXPERIMENT OF SCIENCE.

Successfully resisting a smirk at the hypocrisy of Arashi's statement on trying something before judging it and her reaction towards the chocolate covered bacon, Ryuu instead settled with his usual kind smile. BUT SOON THE TIME FOR HIS MASTERFUL PLAN TO COME TOGETHER WOULD OCCUR. Mostly due to the fact that the topic was on her chocolate covered ants. At this point Ryuu would have two equally subtle options to obtain his prize. The first was killing her, stealing the food then running. The second was to subtly hint at his desire to try one and hope that she would fall to the pressure and give him some.

"It's delicious. Though I must say that this is the first time i have heard of chocolate covered ants. How exactly do they taste?" RYUU CURIOUSLY SAID IN A SUBTLE WAY TO SHOW HIS DESIRE TO TRY SOME OF THE ANTS. Thus his plan was sprung into action. A plan so subtle and daring that not even the master detective would be able to see it.

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Arashi looked up at the odd man. She looked to the side as he said she could have tried it. She thought about it a few seconds, opened her mouth to speak then closed it again, thinking once more. Why had she never tried chocolate candy before? She had heard her mom talk plenty about chocolate, always saw her eat chocolate ice cream?

“It never interested me until now.” She finally said. “We all start somewhere.” She smiled up at him again and ate the remaining chocolate on the bag.

It sank in what he said after he said it. She stared at the bag full of chocolate covered ants and blushed, grabbed the bag and pulling it into her lap. She turned away and scratched the back of her head and awkwardly coughed again.

“I’m sorry. I…I know ants is an…awfully odd thing to eat. It’s probably extremely disgusting for you to watch me munch down on these.” She tightened her grip on the bag, causing a crumpling noise to be heard. “I didn’t even think about that before I started eating. It’s very inconsiderate of me.” Ironically enough, she showed she cared about his feelings…its true how people change over the years.

“Sorry.” She muttered awkwardly chuckling now.

Watching the crazy lady act somewhat crazy, Ryuu wondered what dastardly plot she was coming up with. What cruel and dastardly plots was she cooking up to counter Ryuu's HEROIC PLOT OF MOOCHING OFF OF OTHERS. Or perhaps she was plotting out all of the movements that would occur if she were to attack. WELL TWO COULD PLAY AT THAT GAME.

"So first she will flip the table at me. Jumping back I throw the salt shaker at her and charge. At this point she will grab a giant fish to attack me. So after she takes out the giant fish and attacks. I weave to the left and quickly to the right to avoid the second fish swing. Where I then immobilize her with a kick to the shin. I will then give a one liner then kill her and take her food. Ryuu thought to himself as he plotted out the most likely turn of events that would occur if a fight should break out.

BUT THEN A FIGHT DIDN'T BREAK OUT (undoubtedly because Arashi realized that Ryuu already had his victory planned out). Instead Arashi moved the food close and attempted to justify it under the guise of being embarrassed. A valid move although it seemed a bit impractical. However Ryuu was even better at this game of cat and mouse. Or in this case cannibalistic humanoid and high ranking warrior in a group designed to kill people like him.

"There's no need to apologize." Ryuu said with a reassuring smile. "I'm just curious about them." Ryuu then said. Undoubtedly this choice of words would put enough pressure to make her offer one to Ryuu. BUT IF THAT DIDN'T WORK THEN RYUU WOULD TRY AGAIN. Or maybe just kill her and take it. Or if Ryuu really wanted to think outside the box there was also the option of buying some for himself.

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When the man didn’t respond Arashi was worried she had scared him again. Was she acting weird? She pondered a little, looking down at the bag in her lap. She fiddled around with it, wondering if she was an odd person. Perhaps this is why her family disowned her.

When he spoke about her apologizing she was knocked out of her day dreaming. She looked up at him and then smiled when he said he was interested in the food. She put it back on the table, noticing how crumpled she made the bag. She pulled it close to her and tried to flatten it out a bit before looking back up at Ryuu, her eyes stopping once again at the bandages on his face.

Once she was satisfied with the neatness of the bag she put a hand in the bag. She grabbed another handful and began to play with the insects in her palm. “They taste like chocolate covered nuts really…” She said, finally resting her eyes on her hand…away from the bandages on his face.

Perhaps if…I’m really friendly to him…he’ll tell me about the bandages.

She smiled sweetly at the man before her. “Would you like some?” She held out her hand to him, her fingers slightly bent. Her eyes returned to the bandages on his face.

Not meaning to, she withdrew her hand a little, it was still outstretched but she had merely gotten distracted was all. “Excuse me If I step over my bounds…” She finally said, her voice even sounding distracted. “But…why do you have bandages on your face?”

HIS PLAN HAD WORKED. FOR ONCE ONE OF HIS PLANS HAD ACTUALLY WORKED WITHOUT HAVING TO RESORT TO A BODYCOUNT. Successfully managing to resist the urge to get up and do a happy dance of triumph on the table, Ryuu instead said, "I would love to try one. Thank you for offering some." Reaching out and taking the candy, Ryuu would eat them and say with a smile, "It's pretty good." It was true that they were pretty good. But not as good as the tase of VICTORY.

Hearing Arashi's question about the bandages, Ryuu pondered for a moment. While he had come up with a believable lie long ago, Ryuu wondered if it would be sufficient to trick the detective. Deciding to risk it Ryuu then said, "Well I once met a rather nasty hollow." as his explanation. It technically was the truth and it implied what the reason for the bandages was.

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Arashi realized how rude she must have sounded as the man took the chocolate out of her hand. The remaining chocolates she stuck back in her little bag. She smiled softly at him and placed her hands back in her lap.

She was surprised he actually answered her. She was afraid the question had stepped over the bounds.

A nasty hollow? Now questions really flowed through her minds. Now she was really interested. Of course Arashi was still young compared to a lot so in a way, she still didn’t know a lot. To her the citizens were too weak to ever fight a hollow.

“How did you survive?” She leaned forward, clearly interested in his story. “Did a shinigami help? What did the hollow look like?” She continued to ask the questions, not realizing she was asking them. “Why did it attack you?”

Noticing the interest that Arashi showed when he mentioned that it was a hollow, Ryuu had to admit that was a new one. Most people merely cringed and dropped the subject when he told them about the bandages. However this would at least provide Ryuu with an oppurtunity to mess with the detective given that she actually seemed to buy Ryuu's story. RYUU WAS NOW WINNING THE WAR OF THE WITS.

"Well I survived by not getting eaten. That tends to be a good way to not get killed by a hollow." Ryuu replied. "As for your other questions it was just me, it probably attacked because it was hungry and it looked rather bloody. Some of it was mine but most of the blood was it's own." Ryuu continued.

"So have you seen a lot of hollow?" Ryuu asked Arashi in a curious tone. The questions she had asked did seem rather odd for a shinigami. Especially the last one.

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Arashi’s hands were embracing each other in her lap. She was wide eyed and leaning forward, deeply interested in what this stranger had to say. She felt as if his first answer was little sarcastic though. She didn't let it show, she merely just continued to listen. She was shocked by the rest of his answer. He had no help from a shinigami…Then again, Arashi did think very lowly of the Rukongai citizens.

When he asked his question it truly took Arashi by shock. She thought about it for a second, Tsuru’s bloody face passed in her mind. Arashi’s quickly shut her eyes, pushing the painful thought away. She reopened her eyes slowly and smiled, “I’ve seen my fair share…mainly off duty though.” It was true, command really didn’t spend much time dealing with hollows and battles, they just told other’s how to deal with it.

Noticing the suprise that Arashi displayed at his statement on being alone, Ryuu wondered how she viewed Rukon citizens. Did she honestly think that they were unable to win against a hollow in a fight? Ryuu would be able to vouch that the Rukons were able to defend themselves pretty well. Usually not well enough when he was involved but even then there were a few of them that had managed to fend him off.

Perhaps a more likely explanation was that she was suprised that according to his story he had no help and had presumably taken a serious facial injury before killing the hypothetical hollow. Deciding that it was safer to assume that for now, Ryuu also noticed her reaction to his question about seeing any hollows.

Figuring it was probably due to losing some relative or friend to one (it was all of the rage these days), Ryuu managed to maintain his facial expression instead of revealing his glee that yet another life was negatively impacted by the conflict with the hollows. For all he knew the source of Arashi's pain might have been because of him. "What do you mean off hours though?" Ryuu asked. It was a rather odd response, given that Arashi's entire career revolved around the extermination of the hollow.