A new beginning [sakura]

[Saburo Kuchiki]

Meantime at the airport in tokyo, a somewhat slim figure stepped down from the plane ready to pick her bags and leave this over crowded airport, she picked up her cat along the rest of her baggage which included a backpack, and a wheel bag which she dragged along, finally over her shoulder on her back leaned a sword bag, now you might wonder how someone managed to smuggle such an item to japan? well the Katana in question was all but normal as it was not made out of ordinary metals therefore the metal detectors did not react to it, her cat was bareley a year old, her cat was kept in a small cage, she had spent the last nine and a half hours in the airplane one of the longest flights in her life or so it felt, partially because of the crowded plane.

The plane had arrived from france and was but a few minutes late, altrough the plane had taken a detour trough hongkong and landed there, it was still within scedule, none the less Shade disliked traveling especially in airplanes.

Now all she needed to do was to find her contact, which should have been easier than it sounded, whit her capabilities it should have been an easy matter, but as it turns out she could not sense a single person in the entire airport who`s reitsu was even remotley close to her own, off course she expected them to supress their reitsu just as she had done not to draw unwanted attention however there was not even the slightest hint of anyone even trying to hide their presence. This annoyed her greatly, she decided to wait outside but it turned out that it was raining in tokyo, great.

It seemed she had dragged a foul weather from europe along with her, she sighed as there still was no sign of her contact, she decided to wait a bit perhaps they where simply late? Yes that must be it, there was no reason to get impatient...

Two hours later...

Her patience was running out For gods sake she pulled out her mobile phone only to find out that it was out of battery power, this always seemed to be the case whenever she needed to call someone (which was not often hence the battery dying on her) She frowned, now what, shade was getting impatient her constant complains did not help Hikaru, she was getting slightly pissed, had they forgotten about her? damn you Hitoshi is this how you treat your comrades?, she mentally cursed with an unphased expression about her.

Instead than trusting on someone who was not about to come anytime soon (if at all) she decided to take a buss, she would have taken a taxi but no one seemed too exited about picking her up, this had never happened before, and she found it rude, plus she never enjoyed sharing sides with strangers and a buss was no different.

Eventually the buss came, and unsuprisingly the buss was crowded, this day was getting worse by the minute, after about an hour of "enjoying" the ride in the buss, she decided that it was time to get off sadly however she had been a bit too rash about the decision and was somewhere along the border of where the city of Karakura started, however she was umoved by this fact and simply started to walk along the road.

She was wearing the usual civilian clothing, black with light blue stripes across the chest, she was lucky to be wearing her sneakers and not her sandals, ontop of that the rain seemed to have ceased somewhere along the ride. These where the few positive features that had happened today. It would have been so much easier to just use her quincy powers and she would have been at the desired location hours ago, however this was simply not possible due to the amount of baggage she was wearing, besides she was supposed to be in cover, she could not allowed to be detected by these humans before her mission had even started. Up ahead the road she saw a park which seemed like a blessing by now, she decided to rest there maybe ask for directions, she studied the park, it had many asian features which was common in japan, she took a seat on a park bench, brushing off any raindrops that still lingered, she placed a pink towel on the seat, it was the first thing that she could get from her bag.... now which direction should i head off to? she pondered while placing shade next to her on the bench, the first sun rays stroke at her skin and she actually smiled for the first time today (in public) albeit a fake one.

[emily]

Prepared for her free day with a small smile on her face, the young shinigami stepped into the rain, where a scowl immediately settled onto her features. A flash of slight annoyance sprang into her eyes, twinkling in the murky sea-green depths, and she pulled her black hood over her head hastily to shield herself from the light drizzle. As she walked down the street, hands in pockets, the dots of pressure hitting the top of her hood increased, the rain soaking through the fabric, and a stream of water reached her scalp, the sudden invasion teased at the sensitive gigai nerves, triggering an involuntary jerk in response to the coldness. The spirit occupying the body scowled, and shrunk closer to herself, in a futile attempt to hide from the rain, from the vulnerability of a human gigai. Sakura despised wearing a body in the Human World, but the officials insisted the fake cover would improve her ability of concealing spiritual pressure and lessen the risk of a Hollow attack, not that she needed assistance (and besides, wasn't the point of a soul reaper the ability to eliminate Hollows?), but all high-ranking officers were required to wear a gigai.

These wretched bodies were far more sensitive than she was used to, dammit! Every brush of the wind froze her to the bone. Were humans really this fragile, so delicate, so weak? All shinigami lost every trace of their human life, and Sakura was no exception. She remembered she'd died at a young age and grown up in the Rukongai, but when she strained for earlier memories, they simply weren't there, an empty space, like deleted information. She'd forgotten the feel of the crinkly edge of a leaf rubbing against her finger, or the smooth pelt of a cat - though animals rarely ventured near her now, as though fearing the stench of death. On her first visit to the World of the Living in a gigai, she'd received many threatening hisses from a feline she'd pursued out of curiosity, and she'd never tried to approach an animal again. For an odd reason, her heart throbbed when the furry creatures' pelts would bristle and they would scamper away from her hand, as though repelled by her touch.

It proved that the living and the dead weren't meant to mingle together, their worlds destined never to touch. Sakura glanced around at the humans scurrying past her on the street in a hurry to find shelter for the rain had picked up quite a bit now, her gaze a bit wistful. What would it be like to lead a normal life? Cheerful laughter bloomed in her hearing, and she instinctively stepped to the side as two children barreled by, one chasing the other. A moment later, their mother also rushed by, shooting an apologetic glance at Sakura. Go to school? Go to parties? As she passed an open restaurant, though the transparent glass she spotted a couple sitting together at a booth, their mouths moving inaudibly as they chatted and laughed. Fall in love...with a human. Sharply, she tore her glance away from the happy couple, her hands curling into fists inside her pocket. Stop wasting your time daydreaming, she scolded herself. Honestly, that was the whole reason she always visited the Human World on the days of her break. In the World of the Living, she felt like any other mortal, able to pretend to be alive, to escape the gravity of her duties.

The rain eased, slowing to a drizzle once more, and Sakura sighed and pulled off her hood. The flimsy fabric drooped down her back limply, defeated by the relentless patter of the rain. The refreshing air felt good inside her lungs, filled with the compromise of freedom, and she took deep breaths as she continued her walk up the street. Even in the Seireitei, she often found herself absentmindedly walking around when she had spare time, but not enough to prepare a trip to the Human World. What about the library? Only a few blocks from her current location, and she could pick up a few books and spend the rest of her time at the garden, her typical schedule for a day like this - wait. She hadn't visited the park for a while, and it was right ahead - why not go? The park was lovely, a lively place but large enough to find some peace and quiet, and so a perfect location to just think and watch passing citizens with their daily lives. She realized she actually sounded normal, like a student planning an after off from their studies. To the human eye, she could certainly pass as a student, in the late years of high school or a college student. To one who paid attention, though, her eyes were filled with long, hard experience and held none of the sparkle of innocence and life of a human. The little green pill in her pocket, barely more than a single gram, held enough weight to remind her of her true being. No matter where she went, she would still be a soul reaper.

It was her shinigami instincts that warned her of another spiritual being. The pressure could be barely felt, and missed completely, if it were a lower ranking officer, though it couldn't escape the notice of a lieutenant especially specializing in stealth and assassination, where her main focus was speed and cover. This being had sealed their reiatsu with remarkable talent, she noted, and their pressure must be considerably large. If it were a threat needing of disposal - well, that would be her job, although she didn't like working in her free time. In the massive spread of land of the park, the reiatsu would be hard to sense, and even harder to pick up a trail. Cautiously, Sakura steadily let a small portion of her own spiritual energy to seep out, not enough to affect humans, but enough for another spiritual being to sense, if this thing was as skilled as Sakura assumed. Perhaps she could lure out the other. If it were a Hollow, the thing would most likely come out into the open. The reassuring weight of the gikon sat in her pocket, providing easy access to the tool if it were needed. As not to raise suspicion from passing mortals, Sakura made her way to a tree and nonchalantly leaned against the thick trunk, crossing her arms across her chest, as if resting against a tree, though her eyes were sharp and constantly flickered around.

---

word count; 1098
outfit; here
muse; listen by beyonce
tagged; hikaru, <3
notes; hi. that's all i have to say, xD

[Saburo Kuchiki]

OOC: Hi xD you make me take the first step? all right but it does not have to be pretty!

IC: Hikaru pulled out a map from a side pocket in one of her bags, she tried to pinpoint where she was but she could not figure out which park she was at, well she was not 100% sure, she twisted and turned at the map, while Shade continued to cry, she probably wanted out and take a pee or claw on some trees, she would just have to deal with it. She needed to find the hotel which proved to be more of a hassle than she could have expected.

This reminded her the last time she killed a Shinigami, it was not even two weeks ago that she shot the man dead right between the eyes. He had asked where the nearest hotel was obviously the man knew about her being what she was. And she could tell even if he was in his gigai, he was nervous he stuttered words on occasion, the man simply could not handle being around her. She put the sword bag down on the bench as well, when she noticed something that immediately caught her attention, something approached her no rather someone, and with decent spiritual awareness even if whoever it was was trying to conceal it which meant that the person in question most likely knew about her already, this made her tense that kind smile had been wiped clean off there was only a sort of tense air around her, this was something even shade noticed and got quiet.

Her expression got serious and calm, her heart started to beat a bit faster as she tried to pinpoint where the person in question was, she did not however seem to have direct view on the person from where she was sitting. This was just her luck, it seemed that the reitsu was human in nature an assassin? Hikaru knew however that there where many spiritually aware human`s without much power to speak about, civilians, this was different in France, where 90% of the time they where either hollows, assassins or shinigami. Not something in between, this was exactly why she had brought this Katana with her, she could tell that it was not a hollow but that was about it.

She decided to approach this carefully, she wondered if she dared to leave her stuff behind? it was unlikely that someone was going to rob her in the middle of the day. The only thing she took with her was her blue sword bag, she felt little hesitant in leaving Shade alone but she was not going far or for long, at least she hoped so. She pulled the sword bag over her shoulder and came up with an question to ask of this person, she was not lost (keep telling yourself that) but she still needed directions, she stepped forward seemingly approaching whatever laid ahead, this is when she noticed the girl. There was something about her she could quite not put into words, perhaps she was a bit on the edge, she needed to relax a bit.

She gave a small shy smile while her cerulean blue eyes narrowed to near slits while gazing upon her. With her delicate french accent she spoke. Excuse me, do you happen to know the name of this park? or perhaps the direction that I'm heading to, the green dragon... this part of Karakura was kinda new to her, besides two years back she spent most of her time flying up there in the air exterminating hollows, if only she would have been able to take a peek she probably could have figured it out herself. There was something about this woman that seemed to make her stick out of the crowd, perhaps it was her eyes that where giving off something unpleasant, or perhaps it was the fact that it somehow gave her the chill`s, the last time this had happened was about two years ago when her mentor had passed away, but this was different it almost felt like she was looking in a mirror her empty eyes reflected back at the girl, the air was getting a tad tense regardless of her approach she was not arrogant but rather modest.

Still she had walked right into a trap what was she thinking? maybe she would be able to fool this individual, she had actually hoped that whomever this person was it would have been a guy instead, she fared far better at fooling men for some reason.

She was not sure why she was up in the tree, aside from getting a good view and higher ground, all which pointed out to another fact, a fact that this girl was quite likely to be an assassin, as higher ground always proved a more tactical in combat.

She was on her guard, those eerie eyes where something that told quite a many things about this girl, she had seen more than most, she knew about the dead, and most of all she knew about her, question was, what did she think that she was. By instinct her arm reached out for her sword bag as she pulled it down from her shoulder... there she had an idea... she wondered if she could pretend to be a shinigami? she had a Katana which could be easily mistaken to that of a Zanpakto, if this woman was a shinigami would it fool her? if she was an Assassin then she would simply have to kill her disguised as an Shinigami... It was a risk she knew that, but a risk she was willing to take. On the other hand if she was a shinigami she would probably allow her to live, no matter how much she wanted to kill them.

She was not sure if this plan was fool proof but heck it was better than nothing... now the next seconds would sum up what would happen next it was all up to this girl. She wrapped the sword bag open pulling out the map from it that she had earlier forced inside a narrow gap on the side, The neon blue hilt of Aoi No Exorcist became visible, she also wanted to see her reaction.

----------------------------------------

OOC: try not to reveal too much if possible.

Edit: the post did not turn out quite like i wanted it to but i hope it wont change their future relation plot, worst case scenario i do have a ace up my sleeve that i could use as a distraction, at least a temporary one.

Her katana Aoi no Exorcist

th02.deviantart.net/fs71/200H/i/2011/315/2/0/the_koumanken_kurikara___ao_on_exorcist_by_dekokatana-d4fw9pr.jpg

[emily]

Her eyes focused and closed in on passing faces, narrowed sea-green pools sweeping through the eyes of others, searching their faces for anything out of place. A seemingly meaningless smile flashing by quickly, or a small twitch in otherwise relaxed features, Sakura took into consideration, all the while still loosely supported by the tree. From her experience as a resident of the Maggot's Nest hidden in the heart of the division, she'd quickly caught onto the latent meaning of discomfort or anticipation behind the slightest shift in posture or facial expression. Many times, a prisoner would lunge for the inspecting officer in a futile attempt to escape, regardless of the unlikely possibility to triumph against a seasoned, high-seated shinigami of the division, clinging onto the barest flare of hope, that thin string of faith, the slightest belief in their ability, risking severe consequences for themselves if the revolution resulted in failure- all for that desperate urge for freedom, or simply to change something. She'd seen even children, prodigies that may grow up into a threat, attack the officers. Human children were different, more carefree and spoiled, still oblivious to the true nature of the cruel world, but their innocent appearance only increased Sakura's suspicion, if anything. They were so unlike the street-toughened, notorious children in the Soul Society that she sometimes wondered if their foolish behavior was for show, though she knew it weren't the case, sadly. Despite the possible increased threat, to think that these children were so insatiable and pampered made Sakura wish it were an act. Her teeth gritted; in Soul Society, children fought and stole to survive, while humans had all they needed, even a family to take care of them, yet they would still avariciously demand more. Obviously, they'd never experienced the despair and pain of having nothing, the utterly broken feeling of loneliness. She envied them, she admitted, spared from the harsh truth at a tender age, still able to remain ignorant and free.

It wasn't fair.

Her hands twitched, curling the slightest bit as two boys whom could not have been over the age of seven, sped past her, so absorbed in their game, their world, neither casting as much as a glance towards Sakura, completely ignoring her. In an irrational moment of wonder, she longed to see the pathetic brats sobbing helplessly as their perfect world crashes down around them, finally acknowledging their greed. Immediately, the thoughts dissolved, leaving herself startled. She feared those terrifying feelings of anger, when that heat surrounded her heart, and the black, bubbling rage roared to life and consumed her in a moment of vindictiveness and fury, and control slipped between her fingers. Working and completing paperwork occupied and strained her mind, but on her free days, the thoughts and emotions came pouring back, and she used her rare breaks to release the built-up stress. On these days, Sakura let her mind wander. It was now that she realized her current situation, and how easily she'd let her thoughts carry her away. Again. Fortunately, she'd snapped back to reality in time as she noticed a female making purposeful strides towards what seemed to be Sakura's direction. Her eyes blinked, once, twice, and sharp, brilliant color returned to the formerly glazed irises, which she focused on the nearing girl.

What was she doing? Her eyes examined the girl in the blink of an eye, and the first thing that struck her as unusual was the bag dangling from the girl's shoulder. What was in it? Of course, considering the background, it was perfectly normal to bring a bag to the park, perhaps packing utensils for a picnic, but what if a person took advantage of the expectation and packed other... tools? The person reading a newspaper and sitting cross-legged besides you on the train might whip out a gun a moment later and press the cold barrier to your temple to declare you a hostage. Sakura tended to over-analyze a situation, and was pretty superstitious. No one could be trusted. The girl's appearance looked normal, at least, a teenager about the same age as Sakura looked, perhaps a bit younger. Sakura stepped forward from the tree as the girl began to speak, looking rather shy, though she mentally wondered about the eyes of the other. The girl's voice was tinted with an accent foreign to Japan, sounding quite European, honestly. What was this girl's history? Interest sparked in her mind, though she made sure to keep her eyes blank and empty. Then Sakura noticed the slight aura dancing off in light currents, which she recognized as the previous spiritual pressure, which felt stronger at her distance. So this girl in front of her gave off reiatsu. So, what exactly are you? "Oh, yes, this park is known as the Sakura no Hinode (Cherry blossom sunrise), fairly popular around here. You must be new?" The girl's faint reiatsu certainly didn't feel rough like a hollow's, though a bit off from a shinigami's, it still seemed possible she could be one. "The Green Dragon? It's only a few blocks from here." Sakura racked her brain for anything suspicious she'd heard about the place, any information from previous missions, but could think of nothing, or perhaps she'd missed something. "I could show you the way. One can lose their way fairly easily in this town." The girl wouldn't have any reason to refuse, right? Straight-forward refusal would be considered suspicious, and if the girl had followed Sakura's reiatsu, then surely the girl knew that Sakura was not a regular human? Perhaps if she followed the girl, she would figure out the reason for the presence of another spiritual being?

Sakura leaned back against the sakura tree from which the park received its name, crossing her arms across her chest again loosely as she awaited a response. As she watched, the girl - she would need to ask for a name later - pulled out a map from her bag. Had the bag been utilized only for the purpose of storing regular items? Had she been simply over-suspicious when she suspected the bag of containing weaponry and uncommons? An eye-catching color was buried in the bag, only a small area of the object, it seemed like. Sakura blinked, keeping her gaze fixed on the girl but watching the object out of the corner of her eye, as not to make her observation too obvious. Was this a trick? The neon blue resembled a sword hilt, a katana specifically. Why would a person carry around a sword? Obviously, this girl wasn't normal, and considering the fact that the girl had spiritual pressure, maybe the sword was based on spiritual abilities? Again, it brought Sakura to wonder what the girl was. Could she possibly be a shinigami? As far as she was aware, no shinigami had been assigned to this area that looked like this girl. In fact, she'd never seen the girl before. Still, she showed no hint of recognization on her face at the weapon or anything that hinted at noticing the sword. Better to just wait until more information was known, so for now, she wouldn't say anything. Sakura was a strategist, preferring to piece the bits of information together before making a move recklessly.

---

word count; 1210
outfit; refer to first post
muse; last to know by three days grace
tagged; hikaru
notes; sorry for such a long delay! i'm trying to finish some last-minute school stuff before break. i hope this post is okay, and if you have any suggestions, i'll be glad to hear them. btw, i just made up a name for the park randomly.

[Saburo Kuchiki]

There certainly seemed like a lot of people where moving about, perhaps she had been so frustrated with the daily event`s that she had not noticed this when she arrived at the park? no it was not that, she had been so fed up with crowds by now that the park felt much more bearable giving her breathing room. That is until this girl came to disturb her peace. What was she anyway? She was not sure, but she started to think more and more that she was simply overreacting again i mean what where the odds that she would walk into the enemy first thing when arriving to Karakura? not a whole lot.

Usually this was the first thing she would have assumed, but she was too fed up to even care really, as long as she would not give away what she was there was nothing to worry about. Besides she was too damn tired anyway, the mere thought made her want to yawn but she forced it down. She thought it was rude to yawn in someone`s face when having a direct conversation especially when she had started it. And now she was in a jam, sticky as... well jam.
The stranger knew the name of the park, in less than a second Hikaru scrolled the map open, taking note of the park where she was at, she hardly blinked at the map before her eyes fixated upon the girl that she was facing, hearing her offer her eyes glanced open at her more vividly, a more serious phase about her kicked in her... what was she going to do? From the corner of her eye she could view her baggage on the bench. Originally she had wanted to decline her offer but she supposed it would not hurt for this girl to show her way.

Hikaru seemed to be in deep thought for a few seconds before her irises fixated again towards the girl. Just a sec i need to ask of permission... she closed her map stuffed it into the sword bag again, and turned her back to Sakura, and stepped forward, she always relied on Shade to make the hard decisions, she was after all the only trust worthy friend of significant note, she always did return to her whenever she let her out, unlike all those others who had died on her. In mid step her body reacted to something she saw head straight in front of her, a man of about average height a tad bit on the thin side. Stood there picking up the cage some twenty feet from her, he noticed her and seemed to want to make a run for it, before he had taken no more than three steps, Hikaru had already unsheathed her Katana and thrown it towards the man with little to no hesitation at all, normally she would have refrained from tossing her Katana as it would leave her nearly defenseless (unless she wanted to use her quichy powers which was not a choice at this point) The katana spun around in mid air hitting a nearby tree without too much force, but still more than enough to stick into it at least two inches, the man`s face was completely pale as the katana missed his face only by an inch, you could almost think he was a ghost at this point, he was lying on the ground attempting to calm himself down.

Hikaru calmly stepped forward towards the man, as she approached him Hikaru decided the man was terrified with fear, anything less and she would have knocked him out cold, she pulled her katana out of the tree as if it was nothing, a significant crack was left into the tree.

As she reached out for Shade and cage she was in, she took note that the man was looking at her more intently it struck her as the man could see her Undies, a final merciful blow was committed in the act of a boot to the head, all of this without a spectacle of emotion about her.

For an exception to her eyes which showed a certain degree of annoyance, she then went to pick up the rest of her baggage, she was swift in her actions and returned less than a minute later, she pulled the cage in front of Sakura, waiting for an expression from both parties. Hikaru must have stood like this forever as Shade gathered the Intel she needed to deduce weather this person was trust worthy or not... her complete black fur and yellow eyes could only be (in Hikaru`s opinion described as kawaii) Her paw suddenly jutted out of the cage attempting to reach out towards Sakura, shade had observed the girl in every possible aspect that this luxurious (insert sarcasm here) could provide.

She did not hiss at her which was a good sign despite the attempted kidnap that had occurred only minutes earlier. Hikaru was genuinely surprised by this as it was something Shade did to most, at least if they attempted to pet her. Seems like we are all good to go... show the way She smiled again altrough this time she felt like it actually felt good for once as there was a hint of a mild blush on her face, she was not sure why though, they had just met after all, and she was not planning on hanging around for too long lest she wanted to make friends which was not something she had planned ahead at least not in a friendly long lasting friendship.

The more she thought about this the less she understood, she was something different all right, perhaps it would not hurt to get to know her a bit better, even more so than just weather she was a human or something else. You could have called Hikaru ignorant at this point, but perhaps she wished that somehow this particular person would not die on her? further more was she getting attached to her? nonsense, it was just a coincidence that they met like this, both with decent spiritual awareness, for all she knew she could be a quincy as well. She assumed that at the very least she could see spirits, but did not tell of this fact because people would think she was crazy, which was understandable. Hikaru sheathed her Katana into her sword bag and closed it up, while looking forward to getting to the green dragon maybe taking a nap or a well deserved hot spring bath.

[emily]

Sakura noted the shift in the girl's cerulean eyes as she considered her offer. The shinigami didn't dare take her eyes off from the stranger, unwilling to risk missing an important detail. She blinked every few moments and glanced off to the side slightly though, but still watched the girl from the corner of her eyes, for staring continuously and intently at someone could raise suspicion. In unknown, risky circumstances, Sakura contemplated the view from every angle she could, for one of a spy's requirements of great importance is to protect their disguise. If their mask is uncovered, the whole mission more or less fails, without a specific plan, that is.

The stranger's gaze flickered slightly to somewhere at the side as if contemplating a thought, then back to Sakura before asking for a moment to receive approval as she slipped the map back into the bag, the vivid blue of the sword showing. The short statement spiked her curiosity, for she'd made an assumption that the girl had traveled to the park alone. Did an authoritative figure come with the girl? Still unmoving from her spot against the tree, Sakura's eyes focused on the stranger as she turned, then froze. Hmm? Uncertain of the reason behind the sudden pause, she followed the girl's line of sight, and saw a man picking up a cage containing a pile of dark fur, and was no less puzzled. Surely that couldn't be it? Many people brought their pets to the park for a walk or something, and carrying animals around in a cage was barely uncommon. The girl seemed to be bothered by this, or at least reacted. Was this unusual in wherever the girl originated from, maybe considered animal cruelty?

Sakura's wonder grew as the man seemed to have spotted the girl, and tensed as if wanting to flee the girl's stare. Why would he want to run? She doubted she was reading his expression and muscles wrong. The girl didn't look too intimidating - well, Sakura thought, at least - so why? It seemed almost like they knew each other, from the way the man's looked stricken as if he'd been caught or cornered. At lightning speed, the girl whipped out the weapon from her bag and hurled it towards the direction of the man. Well, this was interesting. Should Sakura dart forward to help him? For all she knew, he was an innocent human who just happened to be the victim of a spiritual being gone insane. Her job was to protect human souls from the likes of hollows and such. It didn't matter too much though, for the direction of the katana's target veered away from the man to the side slightly. Anyways, Sakura doubted she could've made it in time what with reaching to swallow the little green pill. The sword contacted the tree nearby the man, the tip cutting into the rough trunk and sinking in some from the force, and the man fell to the ground in shock, his grasp on the cage gone. He froze as the girl approached him, fear evident on his features. Now I should probably step in, she thought, in case the girl goes too far. There was no need, though, as the girl simply only pulled her katana from the tree, then turned to reach for the cage. A fleck of amusement sparkled in Sakura's dark eyes as the girl delivered a finishing strike to the head as she spotted his eyes traveling up.

It seemed like the cage had been the girl's. Why the man had tried to steal the cage, Sakura was uncertain. Was he an enemy of the girl, or simply attempting to swipe the cat for ransom or to sell on the streets? She silently made a note of this to watch out for another possible attempt. As the girl brought the rest of her luggage and the cage holding the cat to where Sakura still leaned against the tree, it occurred to her that she still did not see a guardian or adult who seemed related to the girl nearby. Just who was she trying to ask permission from, the cat? As she joked sarcastically to herself, Sakura realized it could very well be the cat, from the way the creature stared at her, almost like inspecting her, in a way she'd never seen a regular cat act. Was this cat also special somehow? She glanced up at the girl, and a small smile played on her lips. "Impressive. You seem very good with that katana." When the girl had thrown the katana, almost like a spear, Sakura had not noticed any spiritual energy boosting the weapon, so it seemed like the katana had no particular spiritual abilities, simply acting as a normal katana, though there was no doubt the girl had spiritual powers after the throw. She doubted any normal human could throw with very close accuracy, much less even have a sword in their possession. This girl could be an useful ally.

Sakura's attention snapped back to the cat as it seemed to be...reaching out towards her? It was unusual, since most animals seemed to shrink away from her. The girl glanced at the cat, and surprised Sakura by smiling. The action seemed truly genuine, unlike she would expect from a potential enemy, but she didn't question it, only nodded. "Cute cat, by the way." As Sakura began the walk to the Green Dragon, her thoughts wandered to trying to figure out the girl again, maybe sending reinforcements down to the Human World to get more information? Surprisingly, she felt guilty at the thought, like betrayal. It almost felt like she'd be betraying this stranger she barely knew by reporting her to the Soul Society. Why was this? They were strangers! Why would she feel any different towards this girl and any other possible threat she discovered? But the way this stranger carried herself around, emotionless and silently with fluid grace, was somehow admirable. "What's your name?"

---

word count; 1027
outfit; bah, humbug
muse; nothing
tagged; hikaru
notes; this post was so crappy D: and happy (early, for me) thanksgiving!

[Saburo Kuchiki]

Cerulean eyes scanned its surroundings, following the girl towards the green dragon, she would soon figure out if this was another trap or simply her destination, the girl seemed trustworthy enough Hikaru felt as if she could fly any minute away from the girl, while the heavy load on her back pulled her back to reality still she kept her posture, even though the load may have been heavy it was nothing unusual for her to bear, in fact she was used to lift far heavy weight`s and this one was not so heavy compared to some loads.

The girls vague words echoed in the background, she paid only mild amount of attention to it despite seemingly ignoring her, she contemplated the reason for her choice of words, it had been too long since anyone had responded to her with such kindness, she also found it weird that the girl did not find her to be intimidating since the recent incident, most people would have avoided any point of contact after what she pulled off, her bored eyes peered at the girl with unsatisfactory results, she had attempted to as a last ditched effort to scare away the girl, but it seemed that her actions had only given the opposite effect. Her lips parted after giving certain amount of thought about what to say, she briefly narrowed her eyes to slits while speaking Naturally... my kendo membership is not just just for show, only a fool would assume anything less

She appeared more and more as a cold character with less than stable humor, more and more of her callous persona would show, she did no attempt to hide it anymore, while at the same time she found the girl to be more and more "intresting" she did not particulary know why though, but at this point it did not really matter now did it? Instead of replying to her about Shade she decided to change the topic Do you belive in everything you see?

To her last question she would raise an eyebrow, had the girl asked her name earlier she would probably still had been more than polite about it, but she was not sure? should she give away her real name? what harm would come from that? she had really not thought about it, but it usually was she whom asked these things first, she assumed that she had been too occupied trying to decipher the girl, speaking of which what was her name? did it matter to her? not really, she decided to give her name and ask her`s while at it, she decided also to be a bit polite maybe she could break the ice? .... Hikaru, Hikaru Girardo, my sincere apologies i should have said this earlier, what about you? (altrough it is spelled girardo, it sounds more like gerard)

______________________

word count; 477
outfit; standard (in avatar)
muse; Ikimono Gakari - Sakura
tagged; Sakura :S
notes; Sorry about the short post but i can`t be too long on the comp, besides i have to clean the house a bit.

[emily]

As Sakura led the way with brisk but small steps, the shinigami often glanced back at the other girl who followed her, now having an excuse to do so. She decided it wouldn't be considered strange behavior anymore to continuously check the girl, since it was only natural for a person to make sure a tourist hadn't lost themselves in the considerably sized crowds of Japan. Mentally praising the girl's wise behavior of being aware of unfamiliar surroundings, Sakura wondered if dropping the act would be a reasonable decision. The stranger already knew of their abnormalities, so feigning as a human contained no purpose. Though she couldn't prepare for the girl's reactions, Sakura was almost positive the girl wouldn't try anything in the midst of all these people's wandering eyes, unlike at the park, where everyone had been engulfed in their own activities. Causing widespread terror would end up in absolute chaos, which would get Sakura - and the girl, possibly, if she were sent here by a superior - in trouble. Unless, of course, that was the objective of the girl's arrival, which Sakura doubted.

Watching the girl, the shinigami wondered if she should volunteer to share some of the girl's burden - it must be uncomfortable navigating through the streets with a large load - but remembering the girl's cold demeanor, decided against asking. Perhaps the girl might take an offer to help as a shot to her pride, and considering the girl's traits she'd witnessed so far, such an action could be interpreted as an insult to a person like the girl. Sakura didn't want the girl to think she thought of the other as incapable, and to avoid shattering the tense compromise of peace between them, she remained quiet. As she felt the girl's eyes boring into her, Sakura's sea-green irises shifted upwards and met hers in a collision of cool turquoise. The other girl seemed uncaring - bored, even - as she looked at Sakura, and her eyes narrowed to slits. An action of suspicion? There it was - a hint at the girl's abilities, along with what could have been a hidden insult? Deciding to ignore the girl's added cynical words, Sakura briefly debated whether or not to slip another question about the katana. Would she be pressing too much? But if things would progress this slowly, she'd have wasted her entire break day! "Why would you require a katana?" The words slipped out before Sakura could think them over once more, blunt and to the point, though she tried to make it sound general enough to avoid sounding too curious.

The girl's next question took her by surprise, and Sakura stared at the stranger for a moment, wondering which card she could play. Perhaps this could be the time to reveal their true identities? Maybe... yes, she'd wait a bit further, until the right moment. "Yes, unless there is another logical explanation for the phenomenon, if the occurrence is usually unlikely to occur, or deemed impossible. In that case, I would consider the probabilities and reasoning." Maybe she should try to get closer now, approach the unspoken topic? "For example, ghosts or spirits, some kind of the supernatural. If I think I saw one, then I would trust my eyes until another offers a reasonable alternative." She paused for a moment, then continued, now trying to steer the conversation in a more casual direction as not to raise suspicions too much, hoping her intentions were not too obvious or that would raise suspicions as well. "Why the sudden question? Did something abnormal happen around you?"

As the stranger's eyebrows twitched, Sakura waited intently for her response. If the girl reacted strangely, the calm could crack like ice, sending both of them on their guards to face each other as enemies. Fortunately, the girl replied, following with her own question, to which Sakura responded easily, "No, no, if it were anything, it's my fault. Sakura Itami," for there would be no way to track her in this world, since Itami was not her real name. When she joined the Rukongai at a young age, all she remembered had been her first name, Sakura. Only when she later joined the shinigami business had she received the name Itami from a man she'd once greatly admired and would have given her life for of sweared loyalty, but now she'd gladly spit on his grave. "So what brings you here to Japan?" she questioned, in an effort to make conversation, and possibly get more information.

---

word count; 776
outfit; poop
muse; give me a sign by breaking benjamin
tagged; hikaru
notes; it's fine, take your time if you need, because i always take longer than reasonable to reply.

[Saburo Kuchiki]

The more she listened to this person the less she understood her, the more she noted of her posture and how she continuously watched her as if unnerved by her presence yet unshaken on the outside the more she suspected her, there certainly seemed to be something off about her? why? was she scared that she would back stab her? she might have thought about in a couple of occasions but shook the though besides there where too much people around her and she did not have any real evidence.
She was not worried in letting her know about her real name, she rarely faked it anyway, mostly because there was no track of her being in a holy order, no humans kept record of her quichy life, it was only her human life that was less secret. The most information anyone could figure out was that she lived in France and that she became an ambassador a few years back, to her dissatisfaction this had caught more attention than she could have ever wanted.

She gazed at the skittering clouds briefly before an expected question was so carelessly tossed at her way what a bother, she sighed, her rather bored eyes peered at Sakura Because a gun is too noisy She was rather blunt on the answer, but she figured it would raise more questions than answers, if anything she felt like she was toying with the girl, an unintentional side effect perhaps but for some reason she also felt obliged to ask why she cared? why was she not scared? You... Sakura why do you care anyway? why are you not scared, no rather im suprised you don`t recognice me? Her words would probably raise some questions, she sighed again Forget about it... She would close her eyes briefly.

She listened to her answer to her earlier question, while it was a random one she seemed to understand what she implied, in fact it was not hard to get, why was she asking? because theoretically she could be a dead man walking, or i suppose a woman, but once again she did not know that another pointless assumption, she stood speechless for a while I find myself often wondering what its like to be dead, and what happens to those that die, is all... she spoke again and she remained impassive to Sakura`s apology as well as her last question. Whatever... are you a local then?

If she knew her job then it should not been so strange or even suspicious that she was here, but Hikaru was not keen on bragging about her title let alone gain attention so she prefered not to talk about, unless it was pure business.

Just business... ... Her perceptive gaze took note of her surroundings and recognized them, she was on familiar ground at last which meant that it was not a trap, she already felt a bit relaxed, she would not let her eyes out of Sakura, her gaze flickered to the side as not to appear too obvious, altrough at this point it did not really matter she was here at last.

Do you... have a place called home The words escaped her lips withouth any pure intention, she placed her arm up to her mouth covering it, she held her breath for a moment, why did she ask such a stupid question it was none of her business and it sounded foolish anyway, besides it would hardly help her figure out what she was or where she came from. She had always been taught that a home was somewhere where one could feel safe, where family and friends would gather and live together. She quickly grabbed her baggage and kept walking past Sakura withouth a word.

________________________

word count; 650
outfit; Same as above
muse; N/A
tagged; Sakura
notes; Crappy, post is crappy

[emily]

After a while, Sakura figured her attempted, supposedly subtle glances were losing the desired effect, and instead slowed a few steps to walk beside the girl, a small sign of geniality. Besides, it was rude to talk without facing the other person. She'd made all the observations she needed at the moment, so warming up to Hikaru would be the next step, even allowing herself a slight curve of her lips at the girl. The action felt fake, and she could not recall the last time she'd genuinely smiled near others.

The unsatisfactory answer nipped at Sakura's calmness, but the twinge of annoyance did not register on her features. Hikaru's blunt way of speaking contributed to the time leaking away from the remains of her break. A quick, reassuring glance at their surroundings confirmed their destination to come into view in a few minutes, when she could slip away after a simple departing exchange and call the Soul Society to take Hikaru into consideration. She would regret not conversing with the girl longer, for Hikaru vaguely reminded Sakura of herself, and additionally, the teen was an interesting case. Perhaps they'd meet again sometime in the near future. She gazed over at Hikaru as the girl spoke, a small feeling of accomplishment blooming in her chest. The girl finally asked for more, bringing them closer to the reason Sakura had taken notice of the girl in the first place. Hmm. How should she respond to this? By now, she had decided she would definitely probe more, maybe even reveal the truth if the topic ever came up, and the girl's question could serve as a great stepping stone. Hikaru's next words caught her off guard, and Sakura blinked in surprise involuntarily. Recognize her...? Was Hikaru someone typically known by humans, or was she referring to a personal incident in her history? Since Sakura didn't usually get the chance to visit the World of the Living, she hadn't bothered to research much of the place, with the exception of eminent writers and books. The music was fascinating as well, and she had studied the Martial Arts of this world before, an important trait of a Second Division member. The only other times Sakura searched up people was when required to gain background information on a mission, and that usually centered around kidnappings and unexplained (Hollow attacks, but unexplained to the humans) murders.

Before Sakura could form a response, the girl sighed and dismissed the topic. The shinigami wasn't going to let an opportunity so vital to her objective slip away so easily! "Why shouldn't I care? I'm curious. Not many humans carry around a katana with them. It's quite unusual. I meant to ask for the reason you hold one in your possession?" In her hurry to continue on the subject, she spoke too quickly, accidentally saying 'humans' instead of 'people' like she'd planned. Sakura tensed for a moment, before relaxing. If Hikaru noticed her slip-up, perhaps it would motivate the other girl to continue on the subject? "There seems to be no reason for me to find you frightening, for you mean no harm to the ones around you, or you would have attacked me long ago. And should I recognize you?"

The girl eluded her question, and Sakura decided to take a bolder approach. "I believe that when we die, our souls are sent to another place beyond this world," she dropped the huge hint, glancing into the girl's eyes, her grin widening a bit. Now, how would Hikaru decipher that? Finally, they were going somewhere. "I am very familiar with this place, so I suppose so." It wasn't completely a lie, since the majority of the times Sakura visited the Human World, she went to this town. Her first visits, she'd been somewhat familiar with the place from a previous mission, and soon grew to admire the abundant library and beautiful gardens.

Hikaru's answer to Sakura's question was reasonable, although she would usually find it surprising that a person of the girl's age would need to transfer to Japan for work. Obviously, she knew Hikaru was not the common teenager. The girl's reply was vague, but she figured she should not push anymore, since her own answers weren't very satisfying either. Looking around, Sakura saw that they'd finally arrived, and there would be no point to linger. As soon as she was out of sight, she could... Her thoughts were cut off with the girl's next words. What... As if embarrassed, the girl shoved an arm over her mouth, then stalked past Sakura wordlessly. Well, this was interesting. After a moment of consideration, she walked quickly up to Hikaru. "Yes. If you don't have a place to go, I wouldn't mind if you stay with me at the moment. You seem like a very interesting person." She'd never specified if she owned a house in this town, so she could always book a hotel room at a bathroom stop and get to know this girl better if Hikaru agreed. Sakura memorized hotel numbers and had a credit card and I.D. from the Soul Society on extended missions in the Human World, which was quite convenient now. The Soul Society would take the bill from her salary, but she didn't mind. This way, she could spend a few more days in the Human World with an extended break from the paperwork.

---

word count; 931
outfit; poop
muse; none
tagged; Hikaru
notes; sorry, my family is preparing for a visit from friends, so i don't have much time. this thing is something i crappily put together quickly.
how would you like this meeting between them to go?

[Saburo Kuchiki]

Normally Hikaru was not this suspicious, but around strange people like Sakura, it was a must for survival this was something Hikaru had learned over the years, she thought that Sakura thought the same way if that really was her name, who knew? By now their game of tag was seemingly reaching its grand finale, however to Hikaru`s suprise she felt like she wanted this event to continue if just a little longer.
Her cerulean blues glanced at Sakura, her smile despite being a fake it was suprisingly contagious, this was something Hikaru had not expected yet she found it to be awfully positive, a slight pink hue had manifested itself on her cheeks, she was however unaware of this and even as a familiar smile contested on her lips, she found herself completley stiff, unable either talk or walk, her movements felt sluggish and she processed all the information that she had gathered, in a sudden stroke she stood there completley unmoved, her eyes had shut themselfs almost like a security measure, she was not snoring per se, but it should have been obvious that she was asleep standing as she did not respond to any outside stimuli, she was stressed it was simple, somewhere deep down inside she knew Sakura was a Shinigami by now, why else would she call humans like that, it was a fact yet she refused to belive it, there was so much contradiction in her mind so much confusion she just wanted to forget it all.

Soon she made her decision it was not an easy one but it would have to do, if anything she suspected that this Shinigami was Evil just like the rest of them, but regardless she would let her actions speak rather than her own suspicions take immidiet actions, besides she had never hesitated to kill a Shinigami before, oh why is fate so cruel to me today? she thought while she opened her eyes, the simple fact that she had even fallen asleep in the presence of a Shinigami bothered her more than she was willing to admit, normally she would never be so careless and yet here she was facing a Shinigami she had just met. She would refer from calling her a Shinigami though mostly because there was a lot of people around and it would sound weird but also as to not tense the situation more than she already had.

She had spent roughly around thirty seconds in that sleeping state, which was quite short compared to the normal five minutes that she would have spent. By now the Shinigami must have thought that she was the most intresting subject to date, she had memorized all the questions that she had asked of her so it was only a matter of time that she would answer them or at least some of them... Pardon me... Hikaru had phased herself back into that impassive state.
Her head turned to gaze over her shoulder, her eyes narrowing slightly as her swordbag came into view, she decided to only tell half of the truth, mainly because she was on unofficial business and did not know her mission, she faced the Shinigami again.

Its... the only thing to remind me of my once great past... Her perceptive gaze flickered off again as she leaned against the hotel wall next to the door, she dropped some of her baggage while doing so her gaze flickered back towards the Shinigami, the hotel was more than just a hotel, it was a five star hotel with both a Casino and a restoraunt, it even had a traditional japanese hot spring, and in all of this she was a premium member which meant that she was a regular ever since the incident two years ago, this hotel was part of a much larger branch that scattered itself around the globe, she even had a few holdings off this "branch", she was not even paying the bills, this just another feat for being an ambassador.

Her answer might have been more vague than the last but at least it was something I do not like to talk about... its.... painful She had already spoken more about it than she was willing to even if it was only half of the truth. She must have appeared quite mysterious to the Shinigami at this point, and this must have been a partial reason why she was so eager to learn more about her, she also felt that she was more eager as well but careful in what she wished for. As for your second question... i must confess This question of hers was not flawless, she had never stated that she would have attacked her and to top it off she spoke of it so casually, sure she saw what she was capable off, but as said before no normal human would have sticked around for this long.

I must have imagined i was still in my home country, everyone knows me there... This should prove more than substantial for an answer if not well she could always invite her into her "holdings" so to speak. That also was another reason she left her country to chill out a bit from all that fame and glory. She had never wished any of it, it was only cruel fate which pushed it on her.

"Curiosity killed the Cat"

Her thoughts wandered off again as her lips where pulled together, the thoughts above hinted perhaps that this Shinigami was too curious for her own good, but as strange as it sounded Hikaru actually enjoyed her company, this but another reason why she reffered from wanting to kill the company, she would off course not allow her judgement or her facial expressions to be faulted by this anymore or at least she would attempt to.
She still could not belive that she had if fact fallen asleep next to the Shinigami, from memory she picked in order the third, alas more of an answer than the previous, yet pointless in that sense that it could easily be misunderstood, however Hikaru was not a defect in fact she knew what the spirit world was like altrough she had actually never visited it no matter how much she had wanted, she did have the means but her mentor had warned her not to use it unless ordered from a higher command.

The Shinigami where a power to recon with no doubt about it. Her vague answers had been confirmed filtered and filed, she figured she was not being completley honest herself nor was she subjecting towards the conversation. She would however for the time being refrain from going into those topics futher, the last topic came into its final conclusion and this was her decision, the one she had opted was off course the most straight forward one.

Actually... I was going to ask if... if you would want to join me, you see i already have a room reserved she was standing in the shade of the building cooling herself off from the intense sunlight that had beamed down on her ever since they met.

Time was nigh to question her real reason for being here, but she supposed she could wait a little longer until they would make it inside at least. She was being rather patient after all, there was no reason for her to show any weakness towards this Shinigami.

She then prepared herself again pulling together her things, going for the front door of the Hotel

Come on... no need to be shy She sounded rather calm and gentle, a nice perk with a french accent it was. The golden doors opened by itself, a nice red carpet was placed just behind the door going all out towards the front desk, Hikaru gave her things to the staff holding onto her sword bag and the cage shade was in. She had been quiet for a while which meant that she probably was asleep.

Ahh what an honor it is to have you here Ambassador! A reply could be heard from the man behind the desk, the man was not particulary tall, and he did have a lot of age it seemed must have been around in his late fifties. Hikaru rolled her eyes, why must he speak of my title so openly? I have reserved your room number 27 as you requested He pulled a key from the wall behind the counter, with the number 27 and placed it on the counter. His maroon brown eyes shifted slightly to the side as they glanced over Sakura. As if reading the man`s thoughts Hikaru simply answered. She is... from the press She lied lightly nudging towards Sakura to follow her to the elevator.
_________________________________________

word count; 1486
outfit; same as above
muse; Kuusou Mesorogiwi ~ Mirai Nikki OP
tagged; Sakura, >3
notes; I guess the post speaks for itself ey? xD also sorry for the late reply Xmas has kept me busy. But i hope at least the lenghty post will make up for it.

[emily]

Her plastic smile was plastered unwaveringly onto her face, under Hikaru's searching gaze. Hikaru regarded her, perhaps analyzing her smile, in which Sakura stared back at the other awaiting a reaction, not daring to glance away. From her observations, the other girl produced an exemplary slate of apathy. The unrevealing mask was infuriatingly exceptional, nearly driving Sakura into a frenzy of frustration at the girl's solid composure, yet probed a reluctant twinge of recalcitrant admiration towards her opponent. Candidly, she was impressed by the skill and such potential this girl demonstrated, her frustration due to the fact that despite her years in office, she'd never faced another with a greater aptitude to oppose her than of this girl currently standing in her vicinity. Sakura was confident in her ability to hold her own, but the surprising strength of this girl was a bit unnerving since she still could not determine the exact species of the girl, which may or may not give her a slight edge.

The logical elimination rejected the identification of a shinigami, obviously since Hikaru's described background did not match up to a possible shinigami's, and what reason would the girl have to hide from an officer of the divisions? An exile would have been stripped of spiritual powers, which Hikaru indisputably denied with her demonstrations. A human with spiritual powers? Most likely, but once again, the idea tore a gap open in the logic. How was this girl supposed to have received those powers? The abundant surge of reiatsu from Aizen's defeat occurred 50 years ago, but Hikaru only seemed in her twenties at most. Was it possible some of the energy lingered after the devastating battle? Through genes of family? Sakura wasn't ready to cross the idea off her list yet, but she would gather future insight on the topic later. Then... there were the Quincies. Before the Winter War, the spiritual race had nearly gone extinct. After the War, though, it seemed as if quincies had begun popping up in more places, so... could this girl be one? Sakura's mind skimmed the information Hikaru had revealed earlier. Not much to relate to, but... the girl was not native to Japan, correct? Did the quincy Uryu Ishida not reside in this very town? Word had gotten out through the Seireitei of the Soitaicho Xiao Demizu to have met with the quincy heads to discuss a topic of importance... Could the quincies be grouping together? Sakura blinked, her heart rate increasing the slightest from excitement of her theory. Though, it was only a theory, she reminded herself, and it was quite a wide stretch anyways. Still, it wasn't that all improbable.

When Sakura glanced at the subject of her thoughts, she found only empty space beside her, and abruptly paused, standing stationary as she stared at the blank air where Hikaru had previously walked. She guessed she had been too engulfed in her own thoughts to notice the other girl fall behind. Sakura shifted her gaze, looking back in the direction where she'd walked from, and hurried to the girl's side in a few quick steps. Quite peculiarly, the dark-haired teen stood motionlessly with closed eyes, and a quick scan of the rise and fall of her chest assured Sakura that Hikaru had not suddenly died for whatever reason. Was the girl sleeping standing up? Sakura didn't know of many with the ability to do so, but then again, Hikaru was a special case. Just what was she...? "Um, Hikaru?" Sakura called out tentatively in attempt to jolt the girl awake. Hikaru remained frozen like her words hadn't reached through, so Sakura just watched the girl silently, unspeaking, or rather, unsure what to say. It would be rude to intentionally wake the girl up, if she could even be roused, so Sakura stood waiting next to the girl, and fortunately no one passing by paid much attention. How or why Hikaru fell asleep, she didn't know, but it probably wasn't intentionally. Hikaru must have picked up her hints, and now knew that Sakura was a shinigami, who were proclaimed enemies of most of the other spiritual species. One of the most vital rules was to never let your guard down near a stranger (worse yet, an enemy), but even so, Sakura couldn't do anything to the girl, not in public. Taking advantage of an enemy's distraction was low and dirty, but she was willing to do anything to win. But it was too unfair against this girl, who had so much potential.

A few more moments passed, and the girl blinked open her cerulean eyes, out of her previous state. When Hikaru didn't comment further on her condition, Sakura decided to let it slide; it was just sleeping (or so she thought), but the girl still constantly intrigued her. "You are French, right?" Hikaru had come from France to Japan, taking with her the only item to tie her to her formerly grand past... But why a sword in the first place? Had she traveled to Japan to escape her current life in France? Sakura was skeptical of her words, but she supposed it was better than silence. At the girl's next confession, she dismissed all thoughts of probing further. A painful event in the past, she could respect that, regardless of the conditions. It was quite possible Hikaru was twisting her around with a lie, but under the circumstances that it was the truth, Sakura couldn't ask more. Her eyebrows raised at the other's next admition. So Hikaru was pretty well-known in her country. How she would mistake Japan for France, she did not know, but perhaps it was a usual routine for Hikaru so the words easily slide out. "Oh, really? Does that have something to do with your job?" It was pretty obvious her fame did relate to her job, what with her formerly great past or something, and if Hikaru flew across thousands of miles to Japan, her job must be serious or at least of great significance.

Considering they had stopped at a hotel, Sakura supposed she shouldn't be surprised at Hikaru's offer. It didn't take much more than a second of contemplation to follow the other into the hotel; refusing a chance to stay at possibly one of the most luxurious hotels she'd even seen would be stupid. So used to the small barracks back in the Seireitei, Sakura almost regretted stepping onto the lush, ruby-red carpet, seeming to be designed for royalty or the wealthy. As Hikaru handed the luggage to the staff, Sakura noted that none of them seemed particularly surprised; maybe they'd seen stranger or knew not to ask? She raised her head towards the voice of welcome from the man behind the desk, blinked when he greeted Hikaru. "Ambassador, huh?" she murmured quietly as Hikaru took the key so only Hikaru could catch her words as not to arouse curiosity from the hotel staff. Of course the girl was an ambassador. Age didn't seem to affect anything about her.

---

word count; 1203
outfit; poop
muse; louder than thunder by the devil wears prada
tagged; hikaru
notes; terribly sorry for such a late response! i caught a cold confining me to bed for a week, wasting some of my winter break D: my post sucks compared to your previous one

[Saburo Kuchiki]

Hikaru ordered the elevator, after a moment a gap opened as the doors slid aside, revealing an empty elevator, it seemed like there where few visitors currently inhabiting the hotel it did not really suprise her since few people had the money to spend a weekend on such a luxurious place, it would only be a matter of months however and this place would be crowded with people as there where pretty famous tourist attrations around, and one could easily (and efficiently) get here from tokyo like she had done. Hikaru stepped inside waiting for her company to join her, she only had to wait for a moment as sakura followed her lead, Hikaru pushed the button to the third floor as a man rushed into the elevator on the last second.

Hikaru cursed mentally as she had wanted to stop the elevator midway, and question the Shinigami, she had picked up her reading glasses from her backpack before she had given them to the staff these where sometimes used when she interrogated people, she felt more confident wearing them, as she plucked the glasses on, she took note that the man would leave off at the second floor. Hikaru only nodded to the Shinigami earlier when she had asked about her home country being France she supposed it should have occured her sooner but at least she was following her, she knew that she was probing her every word had been from the moment they had met, she had no intention to kill her because it was not her mission she had already decided upon this fact. At least if the Shinigami was not attempting to kill her.

In this elevator time seemed to move more slower than usually, it seemed like it took forever just to get to the second floor, as the man finally left (only after giving a genuine glare at the man) Hikaru waited for the elevator doors to close. Right now she could careless about the antics of this Shinigami`s dilemma, at that moment she pushed the red button halfway up to the third floor, she then used her index finger and pointer to push her glasses up slightly (she loved to do that for some reason) she was on her guard as she bloody well knew that the Shinigami was as well, she had gauged her and just her appearence told quite a many things about her, she was quite thin, yet flexible from the looks of it, she figured she was fast as well a body well fit for such... it was unlikeley that the girl was from the 11th or 12th, she knew that much but now that they where all alone she could take a few minutes to interrogate her... She decided to go straight to the point.

What Division are you from? If she was from the 12th (which she doubted, she would probably attempt to kill her despite her mission and any other reasoning she had come up with) there was no mercy for the 12th Division from her, they where the worst.

Her words came out more cold and demanding than any previous words she had uttered, her eyes where nailed at Sakura, she crossed her arms just below her bust, the ever tormenting elevator music distracted her only momentarily as she concentraited on the girl instead, Aoi no Exorcist was ready to be drawn on a moments notice should the need arise. She hoped this would not be the case...

She was intrested to know if she knew what she was, how much had she figured out? Make no sudden movements Shinigami i would like to avoid any bloodshed in here if possible, if everything goes well i may even let you live just answer the damn questions and nobody needs to get hurt... understood? She waited for a brief moment.

Your not a hundred percent sure what i am? am i correct? And before you ask yes im a human and no this is not my fullbring She meant her Katana, off course she was not a normal human Im sure you have heard of us Quincies? A small smirk imprinted on her lips as the words escaped her lips, now with that covered she started to ask the real questions.

What is your purpose here? Have you come to slaughter our people like the rest of your race has or are you scouting the area or perhaps looking for hollows? Her question`s should provide her with the nessesary intel she would require assuming that the Shinigami would cooperate if not then she would have to move to plan B which could turn pretty ugly pretty fast... and she was not a fan of dirtying her hands or even her lips.
________________________________

word count; 803
outfit; As above
muse; Dragon Rider (Long Version) - Two Steps From Hell
tagged; Sakura
notes; Hastily put together D: And its fine cuz im patient and im just glad your not sick anymore at least not for Xmas and new year.

[emily]

Oh yes, Sakura would definitely remember to bring up this place on her next missions, for it didn't seem as if she would get to spend much time here to enjoy the hot tub or try her luck in the casino. Hikaru wasn't going to invite her to stay the night now; it was clear Sakura was a shinigami. The disguises and covers were gone, stripped bare to the business talk, an interrogation imminent to occur as soon as they reached the hotel room. Actually, possibly sooner, right in here the elevator; Hikaru didn't seem like the type to waste time. Were there security cameras installed in the elevator? Well, privacy was probably valued greatly here, or the girl wouldn't have chosen this place. Sakura chose a corner, and leaned against the cool elevator wall, studying the open space.

Just as the steel doors would slide shut, encasing the two in solitariness, a man hurried in, the doors parting to envelop the man, then closing once more. She looked up, watching him as he chose his destination of the second floor, a level under Hikaru's prepared room. Sakura glanced over at said person, hoping to catch a glimpse of a reaction, a hint, and was surprised to see a pair of frames settled and propped daintily on her ears and nose. She hadn't seen the girl wearing the glasses yet. Did Hikaru even need the assistance to her vision? As she pondered the reasoning behind the girl's sudden modification to appearance, she heard the man shift, then a chirp as the elevator announced the arrival to the second floor. Her eyes flickered to Hikaru again as he left, when finally, the doors shut firmly, and the metal carrier steadily ascended on its path to the given level, but before the elevator could complete its journey, the girl's fingers darted to the red button, the kind you would expect to see in those sci-fi movies to activate the self-destruct of the ship. Hikaru's actions did not surprise her, for she had expected something of the sort.

Her lips twitched a little, threatening to break into a small smile, amused at the way the younger adjusted her glasses, reminding herself of humans on their job hours, sophisticated and proper. Hikaru looked too young for that kind of thing. At her seemed age, Sakura had observed, other teens would be fooling around and pulling pranks and, well, having fun, none of which was something she could imagine Hikaru doing. "You don't like to waste time, do you?" Sakura commented calmly, not rushing, even when nagged by the girl's grave tone, which the crappy music in the background drained the effect from. She might as well go with the other girl's demands, since she had no where else to really go at the moment. In addition, the sooner she could get out of this elevator, the sooner she could cherish what time remained of her spare time. At least the moments hadn't totally gone to waste. It was interesting to be in this situation with an interesting person, to say the least. "Second." After a brief moment of contemplation, Sakura added, "Why is that of significance, may I ask?"

Unfazed, Sakura waved a hand lazily, dismissing Hikaru's words. "Don't worry, I won't try anything. Ask what you want, the sooner we get out of here the better." She had no intent to die by a human. The green pill still sat in her pocket, easily accessible for quick emergencies in case this girl decided to draw a weapon. If necessary, Sakura could use one of her distraction kidos, which she practiced near daily and perfected for the purpose of escape. After all, the Second Division relied on speed and stealth as their strengths, and being a lieutenant and a head of the Stealth Force, summoning useful kido for that purpose without incantation was a must.

"Quincy, eh? I must say, there's been quite a few of you popping up nearby... Can I presume your headquarters are located here? Or at least, the head of your organization resides here?" So the girl was a Quincy, one of the species proclaimed extinct, last seen by the Department of Research and Development. ...Twelve Division. No doubt all the surviving quincies are now aware of the experiments done on their kind decades ago. Did Hikaru hold a grudge against the Twelfth Division? Was that why the girl asked for Sakura's division? If she had any doubts, Hikaru's next words confirmed the fact. "To tell you the truth, I don't have a purpose for being here. My purpose as one of the shinigami is to slay hollows and defend the humans, yes, but there is no specific reason for my being here at the current time. Actually, I guess you could look at this as a mere coincidence, our meeting an accident." Sakura chuckled lightly at the thought of a misunderstanding. "No need to sound so hostile, not all of us are like those sick bastards from 12, you know. And there is already a shinigami assigned to this area. Today just happened to be my day off." Sakura glanced at the elevator doors, noting that they still lingered in the space between the two levels.

Sakura raised an eyebrow slightly at Hikaru, "Satisfied? Now, I think it's only fair to ask you, why are you really here? What's your business with this place? Are you meeting up with the other quincies?"

---

word count; 937
outfit; poop
muse; when we die by bowling for soup
tagged; hikaru
notes; thanks, and happy [kinda late] new year! too bad school starts the next day.

[Saburo Kuchiki]

Slowly but sureley the elevator music was getting annoying, it did not help that Sakura as she was unwilling to name her, her cheerful attitude only agitated her futher as she seemed more than willing to break into laughter at any second. Sakura`s comment was as much a nail into her coffin as any, was she on purpose making her look weak? S-salopard she whispered to herself in french, (which means bastard) She hoped she did not hear that and if she did she hoped that she did not understand the language.

She listened carefully, withouth noticing her arms had drawn into fists, which she let up when Sakura claimed that she was from the second Division, it did infact make sense. She had disclosed the chances that she would be from either the 4th 6th 9th 11th and 12th Division, either because of how she walked, which was fairly silently withouth seemingly much effort, to top it off her clothes signified that she was trying to blend in just as she was. She also did not seem like the type who liked to do paper work, but more of the practical field things one might encounter, yet not possessing brutal strength either, she was almost exited to figure out what this girl was capable of, her combat strenght, in both kido, close combat and Zanjutsu. Her handling of a Katana was fairly brief compared to this girl who had been practising for decades maybe even a couple of hundred years.

This question that popped into her head seemed unimportant, yet she was eager to know more about this Shinigami, her as a person she could only guess her age, if anything they seemed to be about the same age, Hikaru adjusted her glasses, as she listened she interrupted the girl when she asked about their Headquarters. Its classified... she spoke fast and withouth hesitation, pausing briefly before continuing speaking on a more normal speed. As for the other question, you can call it bad blood, or a Vendetta, i don`t really care but the 12th Division has never been too popular with our race, even less so than the rest of you... we all know what they have done, and you should too

She observed the girl, as she spoke about her reason for being here, Hikaru sighed and pushed the button three again and the elevator continued its race up towards the third floor. She had forgotten how much she hated elevator music. Hikaru seemed a bit dissapointed by her answer as if she was expecting the girl to have committed some unfathoneble crime towards humanity or otherwise. She rubbed her head as she pushed herself off the wall You words mean nothing to me shinigami, if you want to make me belive that your not Evil then prove it to me... If anything your mocking me with your lies... As if spitting in our faces... she mumbled the last sentence.

The door opened and the elevator gave brief blimp noise that annouced that they had arrived to the third floor, around the same time as Sakura spoke her final words. Hikaru had picked up Shade`s cage, she turned her head slightly while facing away from Sakura. No but i guess it will have to do... Even if i knew the answer to that i would not tell you about it, i am still to be informed of my mission, this another reason why i brought my Katana, these Assassins as im sure you have heard about are a case of concern... Hikaru started traversing the hallway towards her room leading the way. She was suprised that the girl was not more suprised about her using a katana but her words must have made more sense now or so she hoped.

_____________________

word count; 636 >_>;
outfit;
muse; final fantasy 13 serah's theme extended version
tagged; Sakura
notes; Aww :/ well im still a few days free, hopefully the site will get more active soon.