paixaorpg | Dr.P's In The House [Active]

Entry tags:

Dr.P's In The House [Active]

Character(s): Paine, Rukia, Haruhi, (Open to more?)
Content: Paine's disapproving arrival in Paixao at Muspelheim Gate.
Setting: Muspelheim Gate
Time: Mid-Afternoon Monday
Warnings: None.

"Come on, Nooj. Gippal. Baralai. You guys have got to be around somewhere." Paine was muttering to herself. For so long she'd been searching for them. For entirely too long if someone had asked for her opinion. Honestly, why did they need to leave after they all defeated Vegnagun together? It was the first time they were allowed to be together since the incident at the Den of Woe. It would have been a lie if Paine had said she wasn't nostalgic for the 'glory days'. She really didn't want to admit it, though. After helping Yuna and Rikku out, she was left to being on her own again. The problem was..she didn't know what to do with herself. What could she do? What did she want to do?

She wanted answers. That was her primary reason for now stalking into this land that she was growing increasingly unfamiliar with. Wait, wait. Paine unfamiliar? This was Spira. She knew every place in Spira. At least, she thought she did. Was she wrong? Had she been so locked into her own self that she'd failed to pay more attention to her surroundings. As her head lifted, her eyes scouted the area. It was a barren place, little life if really any at all. What caught her attention was a long line of people. ..Scratch that. A very long line of people. They were waiting for something, weren't they? But what? An absolution? Answers? By a pair of particular trees she had deemed as a landmark, was a sign that read "Muspelheim Gate". This was a gate, but to where?

Her other questions concerning the Crimson Squad had been silenced. New ones arose, and she knew she wanted answers. She just didn't want to have to wait in line. It didn't look like she had a choice. With the same unamused expression she often held, she joined the land person in line and enfolded her arms over her chest. This had better been worth the time.

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Late again, as usual. It wasn't as if she always had something to do that made her late, it was that she just didn't really care to be early, or even on time. They were blackmailing her anyway, why should she be early?

As she approached the Third Music Room Haruhi glanced outside at the pond in the courtyard. Little did she know it would be a while before she saw it again. She leaned against the glass for a moment, remember the time Tamaki-senpai had actually gotten into the pond to help her find her wallet. And of course she then thought of all the incredibly stupid things he had said and done.

With a sigh, Haruhi headed to the Host Club's door, stopping outside it. She was wearing her regular boy's uniform and looked as normal as always, but wondered if Tamaki-senpai or the twins would try to get her to wear something different.

"Another day with them," she said, before grasping a hold of the handle. As usual, when she opened the door she was blinded temporarily by the brightness within, and attacked with a swirl of rose petals. Yet, when she was inside, it wasn't the Host Club. That wasn't the weirdest thing. Sometimes Kyoya-senpai was known to change the entire room. But today, there was a whole other world inside. A giant domed city was in front of her, along with a line of strange looking people.

"What is going on here?" she asked to herself. Her eyes were huge staring at the city that was definately impossible to hide inside the Host Club room. Turning around quickly, Haruhi was shocked to find the door gone, and just a vast open plain laid out before her.

She felt her whole face just drop in disbelief. "This isn't possible!" she yelled out. There was no way, no matter how rich the Host Club was, that they could do this. Well...then again, they were really rich.

Sighing again, although in an entirely different situation, Haruhi approached the nearest person she could find(a girl in black leather clothes[Paine]) and asked, "Where are we?" after lightly tapping her on the shoulder.

Kuchiki Rukia blinked silently at the enormous gates that loomed before her, a hand resting on the hilt of her sword. It didn't seem threatening, and yet there was something about it that unsettled her.

Perhaps it was the enduring question of: How the heck had she gotten here?

The last thing she remembered was going through the gateway to Soul Society, to the front of Division 13's headquarters to prepare for battle, and here she was, right in front of a massive, artificial looking structure with an entire line of people waiting in it.

Frowning, the shinigami weighed her options for a few moments, trying to make sense of it all. The Hell Butterfly was fluttering around her, almost as if the creature itself was confused as well. Did it not know where they were?

This was a very bad thing, indeed.

It finally settled onto her shoulder, and she moved through the line quickly, sparing the guard her name and asking a few quick questions. The man didn't seem to helpful; all she knew was that this was some place called Paixao, and the thing he had just given her was some sort of a journal.

The Hell Butterfly flapped it's ebony wings lazily, quite content to stay on her shoulder as the dark-clad Shinigami moved the gates, every sense wary and alert.

However, before she could step in, she was startled as she heard an individual - a female, from the looks of it, although the person sure looked like a male - shouting. The girl wasn't too far behind her in the line, and Rukia didn't quite think that yelling at the sky would accomplish anything, really.

That was until her eyes fell on the strangest woman she'd ever seen. Black, strategically placed strips of leather, a hairstyle that vaguely resembled Captain Hitsugaya's, and an altogether odd demeanor she had never really seen before.

Really, if the girl in the sky blue blazer had waited any longer, she would've gotten her answer. Calmly, Rukia replied to her. "You're in Paixao."

Did she pronounce that right?

Paine seemed to be addressed twice. The first time was by...a boy? A young boy at that? When her ruddy-hued eyes had looked over the one who'd asked the inquiry of her, she saw a boy, but heard a vaguely feminine voice. Of course, her memory of Baralai made her think it was natural for boys to have feminine voices. Perhaps the one who'd tapped her hadn't reached puberty yet. She pulled a face as soon as thought about that. Who in their right mind wanted to discuss something like that? Pass, thanks.

Instead, she decided to focus upon the apparel her new companion was wearing. Certainly didn't look like Spira wear. Spira was a place where the clothing was quite easily distinguished. It often seemed that if it didn't show enough skin, then it wasn't good enough. Even those on New Yevon's side seemed to show a little here and there. If that wasn't scandalous on their part, she didn't know what was.

Haruhi must have been waiting a while. At least it seemed that way to Paine. How long had she been merely staring? That was rude. She should have at least been saying something. Trying to think of a way to explain herself, she missed her chance to actually speak when someone behind her spoke up.

Turning her attention to the other voice she'd heard, her posture had turned slightly and she seemed to be peering over her shoulder instead. The first thing that drew her attention was...a butterfly, it appeared. She didn't have enough time to examine the other, the line was moving again. Unfolding her arms, her right hand lowered to seek the hilt of her rather large blade. Of course she had it. She carried it with her everywhere. Right now, she needed it for some kind of solace.

After she had moved along, she made sure Haruhi from before was still behind her. She'd probably want to be included in on the conversation here on out. Paine's lips pressed into a flat line, and she didn't look entirely pleased. The lack of the name Spira caused a bit of concern for her. What exactly had she done? As far as Paine was concerned, portals to other worlds didn't exist until she saw one for herself. So...how did she get here?

"You said Paixao." She'd pronounced it the same way the butterfly-following companion had. "Not Spira, but Paixao."

The line moved again, and it seemed her question had been answered as soon as she gave her name (which she deemed as 'Dr.P') to the ones in charge. Then following that, a PDA had been pushed into her empty hands and she merely stood behind that gate, as though she was a fool, lacking the common sense to do anything.

She glanced over to Haruhi to make sure things would work out for her as well. It was important to make sure those in the same boat were also successful. Then a vague nod was given to Rukia, ensuring that they were indeed in this Paixao land. Then her attention was attracted by her hand-held object.

It's similar to Al Bhed machina. Perhaps there is a connection.

Swords? Who carries swords nowadays? Maybe The Host Club decided to do a Samurai Theme? But why wouldn't this...Paixao look more like Feudal Age Japan? Haruhi scratched her head for a moment, keeping up with the line. She was forced to give her name, "Fujioka Haruhi..." she said with some reluctance, and was given some kind of device. Kyoya-senpai's family buisness was known to develop new technology, so she wasn't that weirded out by reciving something like that.

After going through the line she stopped to look up at the taller girls. As a freshman there wasn't much of a chance she was going to be taller than anyone around her. Which got her a few more customers at the Host Club.

The weirdest thing was how no one from the Host Club came to greet her. Tamaki-senpai or the twins would run a kidnapping mission and drag her off somewhere. She wasn't usually given the option to go in or not.

With the journal in one hand she approached the girl who had answered her before. "Do you know if this is a Host Club activity?" she asked her, carefully eyeing that sword. Wasn't it dangerous to carry such things around?

Calmly, Rukia returned the woman's gesture - Dr. P, was it? - as she stepped in through the gates, her own gaze falling on the...journal she'd been given. Yet another one of the mysteries of the human world; just how did this contraption work?

Deciding that poking at it was not the most vital thing to do at the moment, she looked up when the one named Haruhi spoke again, raising a fine eyebrow. She had no idea what the younger girl was talking about, frankly speaking.

Catching Haruhi's gaze on her sword, and realizing that normal people never really saw swords before, Rukia simply nodded. Her tone was pleasant, although she did not smile - she was not quite accustomed to it, really.

"Host Club activity?" Now that was something she hadn't heard of before. Was this yet another of Aizen's schemes?

While it may have seemed that Paine wasn't paying attention, her ears were still picking up the conversation around her. She was good at that. While not a big talker, she was good at listening (adept actually). It helped her in later circumstances where she might be needed to repeat information or read between the lines.

Fujioka Haruhi. An interesting name.

She glanced out the corner of her eye at the...more vertically challenged person. She still couldn't decide if it was a female or a male. And when it came to the name, that didn't help her at all. She was curious, but not enough to actually inquire. She couldn't afford to be that curious, though. It meant creating some sort of sentimental attachment and that wasn't something Paine was fond of.

The next question out of Haruhi's mouth was one that caused the silver-haired female to lift her head and turn her attention to the other two. "Host Club?" Her tone was softer, more so only she could hear it, although with how close Rukia and Haruhi were, they probably heard her as well. She'd never heard of anything like it. It sounded like some odd Hypello custom.

It sounded like Rukia was in the same boat as Paine. That was the nice thing about this situation. All three of them were completely clueless. Finally Paine planted her right hand upon her hip, and after turning on her contraption (which wasn't too difficult on her end), she held it down in her left hand, waiting for it to boot.

"Somehow I don't believe any of us are going to find that we are in the place we believe we are." It was a safe assumption to make. Even if Rukia hadn't said anything, two out of three was good enough.

They didn't know about the Host Club? Everyone in Ouran knew about it. Hell, even people at the Ourin High School knew and fantasised about the boys in the Host Club. Everything seemed as though it wasn't the way Haruhi thought it was.

"The Host Club...it's a club where boys wait on girls and listen to them whi-" she stopped for a second. That would have been how she usually answered that question but in case these girls really wanted to go to the Host Club there was no way she could insult the club like that. She had to pay off her debt anyway. "You don't know about it?" she asked changing the subject.

Then she heard the girl in black say something about it not being where she thought it was.

"No, my friend Kyoya-senpai is very rich. His family owns all kinds of places like this," she said, looking around. Yeah the dome looked just like the Domed Jungle in Ouran that Kyoya-senpai's family owned. It had to be the same thing.

Yes, that was the question of the moment, wasn't it? What was this...Host Club? Rukia's attention was on the silver-haired woman as she spoke, and mused for a brief moment that despite her strange, almost boyish getup, she sounded very much more on the feminine side than anything.

"Somehow I don't believe any of us are going to find that we are in the place we believe we are."

The Hell Butterfly fluttered it's wings slightly at that remark, and Rukia wondered if the tiny messenger had any idea at all of where they were. So far, though, no pertinent information was received from it. Nevertheless, she nodded at Dr. P's assumption, her gaze drawn to the artificial-looking trees and grass that dotted the place.

She blinked as Haruhi explained what the Host Club was; Boys waiting on girls?

Now that was a truly strange thought. There was nothing of that particular sort in Soul Society - well, Hanatarou had come in regularly to clean out her holding cell when she had been captured, but she figured that that was a different thing entirely - Rukia raised an eyebrow when Haruhi stopped in the middle of her explanation to ask them a question.

Silly question, really. If they asked, didn't it mean that they didn't know what it was? However, Haruhi seemed surprised that neither of them had any idea of what it was. Instead of responding, however, Rukia frowned as she glanced around. Were there any other Shinigami around here as well? She could sense their spiritual presence here -albeit barely, and there were so many other strange, powerful presences that unsettled her even more.

Just what was this place supposed to be, really?

Addressing Haruhi quizzically, Rukia asked, "Your friend did this...entire thing?" If that was true, then just how powerful was this friend, who even managed to attract the shinigami and all other strange individuals here?

So Paine was wrong. Apparently this Haruhi knew a...'Kyoya-sempai' that was responsible for this Paixao place. Did that mean that Paixao was another name for this Host Club that Haruhi had mentioned before? Things were getting a little too complicated now. She wasn't sure she wanted to understand. All she really wanted was to return to Spira and resume her search for the former Crimson Squad members.

Examining her PDA for a moment, she pressed a couple of buttons here and there. Not finding anything of relevant information, she ended up turning it off and enfolding her arms over her chest again. This was really getting irritating. As she listened to Haruhi explain about the club, she resisted the urge to twitch. Boys waiting on girls? That sounded...like something she would not be interested in. At this particular moment. The only boys she was interested in were Nooj, Gippal, and Baralai.

Rather than giving a response, or one that involved colloquial speech, Paine merely nodded to Haruhi. It was fairly obvious she'd never heard of such a place. She tried to make it less apparent that she disapproved of such an idea. Then she turned her attention to Rukia, who seemed to have the right idea about inquiries.

If Haruhi's 'ally' had created the dome-like structure, then all they needed to do was find that supposed ally. Then Paine could go back to where she belonged as opposed to getting caught in this barren land full of artificial plantlife.

It almost made her ill, really. She was surrounded by what appeared to be a badly-created paradise. At least the Farplane looked better. Then again, at that moment, Paine wasn't sure if she wanted to be dead or not. Perhaps if she was, if that had somehow happened, this was the opposite place of the Farplane. What would they call that, though?

Some type of Farplane Hell? Farplane Underworld?

"I mean...I think he own's places like this," she said. Haruhi crouched down, picking up a "flower". She crouched like a girl would in a skirt, forgetting that she was supposed to act like a boy. Truly the most unsettling thing was that no one seemed to know what the Host Club was. Or even Kyouya-senpai. This was all too troublesome to even bother. And then there was the issue with the odd little device. A journal, was it? Wonder what it was for...

But anyway, if she was to host these girls, she might as well introduce herself to them or else lose them as paying customers. And she was told she only had about 4 million yen to pay back.

"I'm Fujioka Haruhi, Freshmen at Ouran Academy," she said with a bow, trying to imitate Temaki-senpai as best she could. Which was quite bad.

"And you are?" Haruhi asked of the less scarey looking woman(Rukia). "Any reason you are carrying those fake swords?" she asked.

Rukia met Paine's eyes for a moment, inclining her head slightly. So far, these...women - girls? - were quite unlike the one she'd met at Ichigo's school. They'd been outgoing, flirty, and Rukia had felt comfortable being quiet, but these two people were just as laid back as she was.

Quite refreshing, really.

Haruhi's movement caught her attention, and Rukia watched quietly as she picked up an artificial flower. Just where did these things come from? This...Kyoya-senpai must be a remarkable man, then.

She blinked as the younger girl bowed - Rukia was sure she was a girl, from the way she picked the flower and everything - and introduced herself.

Ouran Academy? She'd never heard of that before. Resisting the urge to curtsey - it was one of the little girlish habits she had learned while she was stuck in the mortal world a few months back - she returned the bow; one always needed to have manners in whatever situation.

Sparing a slight smile, Rukia nodded at her. "My name is Kuchiki Rukia." She glanced down at the pure white hilt of her zanpaktou, Sode no Shirayuki, for a fleeting moment then looked back up at Haruhi, mildly puzzled. Why had she thought that this was a fake sword? "This is a real zanpaktou, Fujioka-san. What makes you think that this is false?"

Paine was watching Haruhi with most curiosity. This newfound person seemed almost like a little child. Now, Paine was not too overly experienced in the world, nor was she what one would consider old. Paine was a lovely young age of eighteen, still just a baby in the eyes of the world. A rebellious young woman, and yet still just a little girl. The more she thought about it, the more she seemed to associate Haruhi with the way she would have expected Yuna to act when she was younger. Then something set it off. Haruhi must have been a female. That was the only thing she could think of.

Fujioka Haruhi. Ouran Academy. Never heard of it.

Then again, she hadn't found anything to be similar to her just yet. It wasn't a surprise.

Paine nearly found herself chuckling when she was completely overlooked for alias. She turned her attention to Rukia, wondering what sort of response Haruhi was going to get. The second inquiry came and Paine began to smile. It was a bit vague, but it was indeed there. Out of the mouth of babes.

She was attracted to the sword Rukia was carrying, after again wondering about the names. They seemed to have some unique ones. And they spoke with an interesting style.

Fujioka-san. Must be some type of code.

Again, the sword. It was the first piece of weaponry since Paine had hers. In her right back pocket was her Higher Power garment grid, which meant she had a nice selection of dresspheres to choose from. That also meant her own sword was not too far away. She had some sentimental attachment to it after all.

Unfolding her arms, one hand rested against her hip again and she tilted her head to the side slightly. She wasn't going to say anything just yet. For now she would listen, heed, mark, and observe. If she was asked a question, that was something else entirely. Right now, she was just treasuring the fact that she didn't have to do any talking. That got terribly annoying after a while.

"Nice to meet you Rukia-senpai," the freshman said, calling her senpai simply because as a freshman it seemed the right thing to say to an older student. She had no idea that Rukia nor Paine attended Ouran Academy. Or even the commoner(How she hated Tamaki calling it that) Ourin High School.

All of this was too weird for Haruhi. And she only just then noticed the black butterfly on Rukia's shoulder. That was not a normal butterfly. And what kind of butterflies land on people's shoulders?!

"I-I-It's real?" Haruhi said, her face widening in shock. Wasn't it illegal to carry real swords around?! Haruhi backed up with out looking, stepping towards Paine without knowing. Her eyes were opened huge, not knowing who she bumped into. Haruhi quickly turned around, and bowed her head a few times saying, "Sorry, sorry!"

Then her face lit up in triumph. She pulled her self to her feet after falling and hitting Paine on accident. She hit her fisted hand into her open palm in front of her, saying aloud, "I got it!" She touched Paine's clothes pulling lightly on a piece of it.

"You guys are cosplaying!" Haruhi said, having 'figured' out everything.

"The zanpaktou's not going to hurt you, Fujioka-san." Rukia said patiently. As far as she knew, neither Paine nor Haruhi were spirits, and how they saw her - the man at the gates included - was something she still did not quite understand. Nevertheless, she was quiet on that little issue, considering that they probably wouldn't know what she was talking about.

Rukia saw the younger girl's eyes settle for a few moments on the Hell Butterfly, and as if it knew that it was being looked at, the little messenger fluttered it's powdery wings slightly more vigorously before taking off from the shinigami's shoulder and fluttering around them, as if doing it's own explorations.

Rukia knew to leave the tiny creature alone - it meant no harm, after all - and instinctively stepped forward when Haruhi bumped into Paine. The dark haired young woman had been about to help her up when Haruhi suddenly jumped up, as if struck by sudden inspiration, or something.

Honestly speaking, Rukia found her current companions to be rather interesting, Haruhi, especially. Which girl went around wearing clothes that seemed to be meant for boys? At least that was what it looked like, if the horror mangas she'd read before were any indication. That, and she looked so startled at the sight of a sheathed zanpaktou that it was almost funny.

Almost.

Really, this place was getting stranger and stranger. Or perhaps it was just the current company. Who knew?

Midnight blue eyes flicking over to Paine fleetingly, Rukia spoke, "Are you all right?"

And that was when she heard Haruhi say, "You guys are cosplaying!"

What?

"Cosplaying?" Rukia echoed blankly as she watched Haruhi tug lightly on a piece of the leather clad woman's clothes.

Haruhi must have lived some kind of sheltered life. Paine found hardly anything to be of a surprise. She'd seen far too many odd things in her life and by this time, merely accepted them, and typically with a nod of the head.

If she hadn't exactly been awake before, she most certainly was now. Paine adjusted her posture after having been taking the 'abuse' from the youngest one it seemed. She shook her head slowly at Haruhi. She was beginning to lose that Yuna flair. It was probably more accurate to compare her to Rikku. "It's fine."

She was addressed by Rukia who seemed to be doing the same thing Paine was, observing. In fact, she was expecting that both were sharing the same amount of question marks running through the brain. A vague nod was given to her and she had to resist the urge to smile. "I'm fine. It takes a little more than that to detriment me. I was more concerned about Miss Fujioka Haruhi." With that spoken, she turned her attention back to the freshman from that unknown academy.

Of course, she wished she could have retracted that statement as soon as Haruhi began to pull on her outfit. That was something Rikku would have done, which meant Paine wasn't reacting harshly to it. She just wasn't too amused by it.

Cosplaying? This fangled language of hers is beginning to get difficult for me to handle.

"Stop that." It was the calmest tone Paine could possibly take. Then again, it wasn't too terribly different from the way she spoke all of the time. "I do not exactly know what a cosplayer is, but I am vaguely certain that I am not one. As for Miss Kuchiki Rukia, she sounds as though the two of us are in the same unknowing boat."

She wondered how long Haruhi was going to tug on her outfit. It was durable, but it she got too enthusiastic, it was always possible for her to rip something here or there. That was really the last thing Paine wanted.

As clumsy as she was, Haruhi knew better than to be going around breaking things she couldn't fix. She learned that lesson the hard way, breaking a very expensive vase and forced to dress as a boy for the rest of her time in high school. And so as soon as Paine admitted she didn't know what cosplay was, and told her to stop, Haruhi did, though with a frown. So if they weren't cosplaying, what did that mean?

The two girls obviously weren't faling for her "Natural" Host Club charm, as they seemed to be treating her more like a little sibling than anything else. The freshman wondered if they would be better off with the twins. as she was thinking to herself she faded out into her own little world, touching her finger to her lip, thinking.

After a moment, she looked back to Rukia, the one who seemed easier to talk to, not to mention more friendly.

"So what are you guys supposed to be? Because this doesn't seem like Kyouya-senpai's anymore..." she started thinking again looking blank for a second. Once more she put her fist into her open palm and said, "I understand!"

"We're in a dream!" She had been in a crazy dream before. So why wouldn't this be one too?

At Paine's words, Rukia nodded slightly, accepting her answer. Mildly amused by Haruhi's antics, she felt a ghost of a smile flicker across her features. The shinigami was easily at least ten times their age, and she briefly wondered if she had ever been that clumsy before.

Perhaps she was...she didn't really remember, really.

"I believe Fujioka-san will be just fine," Rukia responded, her gaze flicking to the ebony butterfly, who was busy conveying it's immense amusement as it took the liberty of flitting around Haruhi when she stopped tugging on Paine's clothes.

Turning her attention back to the silver-haired woman, she spoke again. "My apologies. I do not yet know your name."

When Haruhi addressed her, Rukia turned back to the young girl. Who was this...Kyoya senpai she was talking about? If this place wasn't his, then whose was it? Who made it?

"I'm a shinigami," Rukia said simply, then blinked when Haruhi suddenly burst out with the entire thing being a dream.

If it was a dream, then things like this wouldn't be happening, would it? And more importantly, whose dream would it be?

Again, Paine was thrust into the back seat of life, which was just fine with her. She preferred to listen and observe anyway. Talking about things that she didn't understand she saw more as a waste of time. While they were talking, they could be asking the more important questions and more to the people who were already in this Paixao place. Instead, they were talking between the three of them and none of them knew what was going on. That was a good indication that their inquiries had little hope of getting accurate answers.

She enfolded her arms over her chest for the third time, wondering how long they were going to be doing this. While she wasn't one for taking iniative, she was beginning to think that she probably should.

Once addressed by Rukia, she eyed her carefully, her gaze caught onto the ebony butterfly every few moments. Then she finally spoke. It wasn't as though she had anything to hide anyway. After all, they were just trying to understand her more. She wasn't about to go into her whole life's story, though.

"Paine. My name is Paine."

She wasn't about to admit that her more well-known alias was Dr.P. In the end, she really loathed that nickname that Rikku had given her. She wanted to just forget about it. Then again, Gippal and Baralai had called her that too. Perhaps it was just a term that was coined over. Then again...

No, no, NO! She was beginning to ask those types of questions again. She needed to stay focused.

Her attention returned to Haruhi when she went with the crazy outburst concerning dreams. That sounded...ridiculous. She couldn't think of another way to put it. This was no dream. She didn't want anyone dreaming about her anyway.

"......"

Well, yeah the whole dream thing didn't make much sense either. Who dreams something that follows all the rules of physics? Or atleast almost all of them. And truthfully, Haruhi knew the kind of people who would dream about her and would be afraid if she was in someone's dream. Again Haruhi thought for a moment, but this time couldn't come up with another idea. And so she asked her new "friends".

"What do you think this place is?" she asked both Rukia and Paine. The freshman girl was actually figuring that she should ask a local, watching all the blond heads go by. Oh god...this wasn't Tamaki-senpai's dream was it? But would you know you were in someone's dream? It all seemed like too much so she just dropped the idea about it being a dream.

"Maybe we should ask someone who lives here?" Haruhi said, pointing at the people who looked like that had been here for a while. "Or maybe these journal things can help..."

Paine seemed to be exceedingly economical with words, come to think of it. It was not like Rukia minded very much; it was simply an idle observation of sorts.

And speaking of observations, why was almost everyone in here blonde? It seemed like an entire sea of gold and pale features, and it seemed like the only ones that were out of the ordianry were the three of them.

"I'm not sure myself," Rukia admitted, hating the fact that she sounded so ignorant. She usually knew about most things; had made it a point to know, rather, and the blatant lack of knowledge unsettled her. All she knew was that she was in Paixao, and the others from Soul Society were likely to be here, and...that was all.

As weird as it was, this place didn't look dangerous, though. But appearances could very often be deceiving; she'd learned that from experience.

Looking down at the journal, Rukia frowned. How was something like this supposed to be a journal? How did one write in it? "How does this work?"

Paine didn't dream in her sleep. Not often anyway, and even when she did, she could never recall anything about them. She honestly didn't think those types of dreams were worth having or talking about. She didn't believe in linked dreams or things of the sort. She was a tad skeptical when it came to things that did not personally happen to her, or things that she saw with her own eyes. Still, she had to force herself to have a somewhat open mind. It would take a bit of work.

I think this place is absurd.

It was what she wanted to say, but obviously, she chose not to. She wasn't trying to be pessimistic. She just had a tendency to be exceedingly blunt. There was such a thing as tact and Paine rarely was gifted with that.

Finally, it seemed someone else had caught onto the idea of asking the locals. However, it almost seemed as though rather than being recognised as citizens, the supposed 'locals' were merely looking through them. Perhaps the...copious amount of blonde-haired people were caught up in their own lives, too busy to pay attention to outsiders. Paine couldn't blame them. She might have been the same way in their position.

"I might have asked the one who handed me the PDA, but it appeared that he was busy offering admission into this place. It is almost like an amusement park, except, I am far from amused." She fished for her PDA and then withdrew it, merely observing it for a few moments.

Thank goodness for Spira and their machina. Had Paine never been subjected to such, she might not have been able to have the knowledge she had now. While she knew nothing about Paixao, its artifical landscape, or its inhabitants, she could at least explain the use of a PDA journal. Using her own as an example, she pointed out the opening and then the on and off button, as well as the stylus pen.

"From what I was looking at here, it appears to be connected to some type of network. Upon this network is a collection of names, I'm assuming other inhabitants of this Paixao place. It would be logical to say that these allow for contact with others. As to whether any of us could who or what we are looking for, that is something else entirely different." Turning hers on and scrolling through pages upon pages of information, she arched an eyebrow out of interest.

"There does also seem to be some type of board, which would allow one to specifically summon someone or someones in particular. I see that as being most beneficial to at least one, if not all of us." That lifted her spirits a little. She could still resume her search for Baralai and the others. She might even be able to contact Yuna still. Or Brother. Or Buddy. Or Shinra. Or...Rikku (not that she really wanted to do that).

"I think this is our first step in the accurate direction." She exchanged her glance between the two, seeking some sort of opinion, some sort of reaction.

Haruhi wasn't stupid when it came to computers, but she had never realy owned one. And in her school, with the richest of the rich in Japan, she had grown accustomed to seeing the newest technological devices. And PDA's and Tablet PC's were quite popular. She even thought the twins might have had one at one time.

"It looks like a Tablet PC or something," she said finally taking her own out, and pushing the button on. She ignored the two accidently as she became absorbed in figuring out the device. After a minute or two, she looked up.

"We should put something on it looking for our friends," Haruhi said, looking excited that she had figured out the answer to their problems.

"I can find the Host Club, and you two can find your cosplay teams," she said. She had yet to believe that they had weapons for any other reason than decoration. She lived in the present world without magic and demons and the like, so there was no reason for her to believe such things might actually exist.

Peering over at what Paine was doing, Rukia emulated her, and was suitable impressed when the screen came to life. This gadget was definitely interesting, indeed.

There were so many unfamiliar things and buttons, and she frowned, trying to make sense of it all. The little stick that passed for a pen, she followed what Paine was doing, and was rewarded with the sight of the amount of information that filled the little screen.

Well.

This was something she could definitely use.

A board, huh. Generally, she thought boards belonged in classrooms, or something, but this one was different. It seemed like people posted messages on these things, and others could read them. That meant that she could find all the others from Soul Society!

Her eyes widening slightly in fascination, she tore herself away from the screen and looked up at Paine. Nodding in agreement, she simply said, "Yes, it is."

They were in the right direction, indeed.

Rukia blinked as Haruhi spoke. She agreed with putting something on the boards, but...how?

And cosplay teams? There it was, that cosplay word again. What, exactly, did it entail?

"How do you put something on the board?" Rukia asked quizzically, then decided to correct the younger girl as well. "And I don't have a cosplay team."

At least she wasn't the only one who knew about things. In fact, Haruhi very well might have known more. She was the one who titled it a 'PC', whatever that was. The only thing Paine could stand to relate it to was machina. Machina this, machina that. It wasn't too terribly outstanding.

And then when she put two and two together, Paine actually gave the smallest smile.

That's exactly what I was thinking, Miss Fujioka Haruhi.

It paid to have some observant members on the team besides herself. If only wandering around with Rikku and Yuna was like that. Instead, Rikku seemed more obsessed with pointing here and there with random forefingers before tripping over herself. It was a little strange because the memory of that caused Paine's smile to grow a little. Perhaps it was because she was one step closer to accomplishing her task? That was important to her and succeeding, was even more so.

Her attention was grabbed when Haruhi mentioned cosplay again. If only these gadgets of sort had a dictionary attached. Then she could look that up and figure out exactly what it meant. She was still convinced that she had nothing to do with cosplay. Why she would was beyond her.

"Cosplay teams...Right." She was just going to let Haruhi think that from now on. Somehow, breaking out with her own information on herself was not something she was interested in doing. Instead, she turned to Rukia at her inquiry and gestured to the rather small keys upon the pad. "I would assume use that to type out the actual posting, and then logically there would be a 'post' button."

Peering over her shoulder, she looked to Haruhi for her advice. It would be nice if someone seconded the explanation...if, of course, Paine was indeed correct. "What does Miss Fujioka Haruhi believe?"

Haurhi was buzy typing thigns and pressing buttons, a few buzz's and beeps emitting from the small device. After a moment she smiled, and turned it so the other two could read the screen. It was short post about a Miss Rukia, Miss Paine, and ~~Miss~~ Fujioka Haruhi looking for their friends. But she didn't know the names of the other two's friends.

"Who are you guys looking for?" she asked them, pointing to how she was looking for Host Club members.

"You don't have a cosplay team?" Haruhi asked Rukia, since it seemed like Paine did. And she looked at both outfits, and noticed they didn't seem to have the same, "theme".

Thinking about her situation, she had decided it was actually a little less stressful than being in the Host Club. No one trying to get her to wear frilly pink things, no dumb, half-minded girls chatting about nothing. It wsa quite peaceful in this place that made no sense. She was thinking of not even trying to find her "friends," but then remembered that debt. Just htinking about it made her slump. Oh well, one day it would get paid off.

"I would assume use that to type out the actual posting, and then logically there would be a 'post' button."

That theory, strangely enough, made decidedly more sense than when Ichigo had told her to stick a straw into a juice pack to drink from it. At least she didn't have to think about where the stupid little hole was.

"I see." Turning back to her own gadget, she tinkered with it for a few moments, typing in words. The little buzzes and beeps were a tad bit unsettlings, but Rukia figured that this was what they called human technology, so she hadn't bothered overmuch about it.

"Who are you guys looking for?"

Rukia paused at Haruhi's question before speaking. "Captains from Gotei 13." She frowned. She could sense their reitsu, but just barely, and it disturbed her. Did they know that she was here? More importantly, did the captains know where they are?

Ah well. No point in idle questioning until she found them. Or they found her, whichever came first.

Pushing that thought away for a moment, Rukia focused on her current companions. "You don't have a cosplay team?" Haruhi had asked, and Rukia shook her head faintly. Haruhi had never quite explained the finer details of this...cosplaying, and Rukia was rather confused, indeed. Why did the young girl seem to insist that they were - what was it? - cosplayers?
"I don't even know what that is."

Well...it looked good so far. These PDAs were something rather useful. Paine could not complain (for once). When she was asked who she was looking for, she silenced herself for a moment. If they were truly in another place outside of Spira, she didn't care who she was with, as long as she remotely knew him. Hell, she could have been near Wakka and she wouldn't have minded.

"I am searching for the sphere hunting group, the Gullwings. On the side, I'm looking for the members of the Crimson Squad. I have names if those are necessary." If the general topic didn't work, she'd post a bulletin later with those said names in hopes of getting in contact with someone from back home.

Again with this cosplay idea. Paine was beginning to think it would never die. She looked between the two for a few moments, looking for some kind of explanation. Her attention was planted mainly on Haruhi, since it seemed like she was the one who knew what cosplay was in the first place.

Then Rukia had led them to the million-dollar question. Paine took it upon herself to join the ranks of those unaware of the definition of cosplay and began to seek for an answer.

"What is this cosplay you speak of, Miss...Fujioka?" She found it a little difficult to address either of the two on account that she wasn't sure if she should be calling them by first or last name or both. Eventually, she was hoping someone would fill her in on that.

For another few moments she brought the PDA close to her, typing and making a few noises. She mumbled to herself things like, 'Is that how that's spelt?" and 'Do I really want to find Tamaki-senpai?'. Then she looked up and the PDA gave a buzz on confirmation.

"Done!" Haruhi said, showing them the posted message. After they looked it over she put the journal into her pocket, and straightened her blazer.

"You can call me Haruhi," she told Paine, giving her and Rukia a smile that usually made the weakminded girls she hosted melt. But obviously, these two weren't anything like the rich girls that came to the Host Club. Then she looked at Paine with huge, wide eyes.

"D-D-Did you just call me Miss?" the freshman asked, her look of absolute shock. If this was a Host Club activity and she was found out to be a girl she would have to go back to being the Host Club's dog to pay her debt!

"Gullwings?" Rukia echoed, trying out the name. It was unfamiliar to her, and she briefly wondered at what a sphere hunting group was. Hunting spheres meant searching for round things, right? What was the point of all that? She kept quiet about those questions, however, not really wanting to be rude.

Paine and Haruhi were obviously from an entirely different world, and some allowances probably had to be made for that. When Paine looked over at her, Rukia returned her look with a mildly mystified one of her own. She had no idea what this...cosplay was, either.

Was it a culture prevalent in Haruhi's society? Ichigo might probably know. She didn't have too much time to dwell on it, however, because Haruhi seemed truly shocked to realize that Paine had been addressing her as 'Miss' all the while.

"You're a girl, aren't you?" Rukia asked, wondering why anyone would be so surprised at being found out to be a girl. What was wrong with that?

Ah, so that was how it worked. Interesting, truly.

As though Paine wasn't asking herself enough questions at the moment. Things just kept getting more and more complicated, when they should have been getting easier. Well, that was just ducky.

Looking over the entry, Paine shook her head slowly. That would have to do for now. If she really needed names, she'd be more than pleased to pull them all out and add them to the list of sought after people.

I'm not that scary, am I?

That wasn't important. Paine was a little attracted to the overly bright smile. Why would someone look that way? Then again, she wasn't prone to smiling at all. Rukia's inquiry had thieved her attention this time. Of course, neither of them would know what a sphere hunter was.

"Gullwings. Like...sea gulls. Something of that nature. Back where I come from, spheres are like important artifacts or runes. Sphere hunting groups merely take them off the hands of commoners who wouldn't know what to do with them." When she really thought about it, sphere hunters were sort of arrogant. They thought they had all the answers and felt that if they didn't, they were the only ones capable of finding them. It was sort of...an interesting concept.

And rather than getting an answer to her own inquiry, Haruhi began to...seemingly freak out over her gender being discovered. This was amusing. Vaguely. Paine lifted a hand and rested it upon her right hipbone, watching with curiosity. Rukia had said it all. Paine didn't need to add anything new.

To Haruhi, what Paine described simply sounded like stealing. And that only made her a little bit more afraid of the woman. But that wasn't the most important thing at hand.

They knew she was a girl? Or did they just "think" she was a girl? Oh no, oh no...this was very bad. How was she supposed to repay her debt if they knew she was a girl?!

"No, I'm a boy!" Haruhi said, waving her hands out in front of her. "Really, I am!" She tried to give her best tough guy face, but she knew it wouldn't work. Truthfully, she was amazed that no one in the entire school figured out she was a girl after almost an entire year.

And still it eluded her if this was a secret Host Club activity or not. And they didn't know what cosplay was. And and...oh this was all getting too troublesome. If it all didn't end soon she was bound to just curl up somewhere and wait it out.

"Gullwings. Like...sea gulls. Something of that nature. Back where I come from, spheres are like important artifacts or runes. Sphere hunting groups merely take them off the hands of commoners who wouldn't know what to do with them."

Rukia paused, taking that in. Her line of thought, really, was running along the same lines as Haruhi's. It seemed a little....dishonest, but perhaps that was the way things worked in Paine's world.

Rukia glanced over at Paine as Haruhi protested against the mention of her gender, and the shinigami simply stared at her for a moment, quite uncomprehending.

It was clear as day that Haruhi was female - it wouldn't have been to obvious to a normal human being - and it was mystifying as to why the girl had kept on insisting otherwise.

Was it really that important to keep up the appearance of being male? And really, what was the point? It was not like she was going to make fun for her for being a girl, or anything.

And judging from what she'd gathered from Paine's character so far, she was sure that the laid-back woman would do nothing of the sort, too.

"Is pretending to be male so important to you, Haruhi?" Rukia asked curiously, genuinely puzzled. Well, if she really wanted to be taken for a male, that would be fine with her, too.

Stealing. Har. That was probably an accurate way to describe them. How Yuna had managed to get into the thieving business was beyond Paine. It was probably Rikku's doing. Had Haruhi voiced that out loud, the silver-haired female would have actually laughed. For some reason, she was amused to no end when it concerned the Gullwings.

At the wild protests that she, indeed, was a male, Paine merely watched her. She wasn't sure she was going to say anything. She didn't have anything that really needed to be said. While she had a lot of thoughts concerning this, she didn't particularly care to share them.

Yeah, yeah. If you are allowed to pretend to be a man, then I am too. Otherwise, you and I are both females, Miss Haruhi.

Then she spoke calmly, softly, as though no one outside of their three-personed...triangle should hear. "There is absolutely nothing wrong with a woman having masculine traits. You should not feel that you must mask yourself due to your gender."

Paine believed in a thing called equal rights. To her, women and men were pretty much the same. She preferred men...or females with maculinity attached (like herself). Girls like Rikku often annoyed her to no end, so she chose not to surround herself with people like that.

So far, Rukia was more than endurable. She was calm, collective and quiet. Paine was actually fond of her at a first glance. And while Haruhi was very Yuna-like at first (whom Paine did not mind at all), she was slowly becoming Rikku. She personally hoped there was a good reason for this.

Then yet again, Rukia asked the right question. Heck, if she kept at this, Paine would never have to ask another question again. That was a mighty fine-sounding idea.

Oh god. They definately knew. But how? What was different here that the could tell? She kept picturing Kyouya-senpai holding his clipboard, telling her with a smile that she would have to be the club's dog again, or her debt was to be paid in full. Oh no, oh no..there was no way she wanted that.

Haruhi just hung her head in defeat, sighing.

"How did you know I was a girl?" she asked, only tilting her head up a little to see the two girls. "It's supposed to be a secret," Haruhi said.

"There is absolutely nothing wrong with a woman having masculine traits. You should not feel that you must mask yourself due to your gender."

WHAT?! Haruhi felt her jaw drop to the ground.

"No-no-no It's not anything like that!" she said her hands waving around again. Calming down, she ran a hand through her short brown hair.

"I need to pretend to be a boy so I can be a Host and pay-back my debt I owe," she explained to the two. Then she fell to her knees, pleading in front of the two.

"Please don't tell anyone! I beg of you!" she said, lowering her head.

"There is absolutely nothing wrong with a woman having masculine traits. You should not feel that you must mask yourself due to your gender."

Rukia was more than inclined to agree to what Paine had said. As a matter of principle, she never really concerned herself with gender divisions, and preferred to live and let live. The human world had fascinated her too much for her to make any real judgements.

Besides, it wasn't like she could do anything about it.

Her companions were more than interesting, indeed. Evidently, Paine didn't speak much, but whenever she did, her words were always worth listening to, quite unlike some people she could name right off the top of her head. If the taciturn, leather-clad woman could give lessons in that particular area, that class would be very popular, indeed.

Haruhi, for one, looked pretty upset, and Rukia silently wondered what the cause of it was. Rukia simply shrugged, whatever that had happened to Haruhi before wasn't really her business, and it wouldn't be nice of her to pry.

With a simple, slight shrug, Rukia nodded, flashing Paine the faintest of smiles before turning to the younger girl. "If you want me to treat you as a man, it's fine."

It would be somewhat...odd, but hey. Humans were strange creatures, after all.

Was it so difficult to find the difference between males and females (all physique aside)? Haruhi acted like a female, and actions spoke louder than words; therefore, that made Fujioka Haruhi a female in her book. On another scale, Paine could have thrown that rule right out the window. She didn't act too terribly much like a female. Or at least, not what she defined as being a 'female'. When she thought of a girl, she thought of Yuna or Rikku. It was sort of unfair to make that assumption, though. Well, that was an understatement.

"Call it a woman's intuition," was Paine's simple reply. Whether or not Haruhi was pretending to be a man was not any of her business. Besides, if she didn't want anyone else knowing she was a girl, the silver-haired one most definitely wasn't going to say anything. She had a sinking suspicion that Rukia was probably going to keep it confidential as well. In fact, Rukia seemed the type of female that Paine could along with splendidly. She was nearly more than pleased. A change of scenery, a change of environments, and a change of alliances. No complaints.

Haruhi was freaking out again, though. Paine resisted the urge to sigh and instead, lifted a hand, pulling her delicate fingertips through her bangs, in more of a motion to sweep them back. At least the freshman was explaining herself now. It was beginning to make sense, and Paine liked that. She was very fond of logic and sound reasoning.

Glancing over at Rukia, a silver eyebrow arched out of interest. Then the smallest shrug of her shoulders was given along with a mirrored smile before she turned her attention back to Haruhi. "My lips are sealed."

I wouldn't get anything out of blackmailing you anyway, Miss Haruhi. Fortunately for you.

[ Hey sorry I didn't know I was going to take a vacation. But my summer is always like that.. but do you guys wanna wrap this thread up soon so Rukia can find Ichigo and such? ]

"Thank you so much!" Haruhi said, still on her knees. She was in front of Paine and was taking her the girl's hand in her own, shaking it.

"I really don't mind being a Host, as long as I can pay back my debt," she said, getting back up to her feet, and brushing off her pale-blue school uniform.

"Maybe we should go and find more about this city," Haruhi suggested, pointing in the way that seemed to head to the center.

Rukia blinked when Haruhi got on her knees in front of Paine, a tad bit surprised at the sudden gesture. Surely an acquiescence to keep her identity a secret didn't warrant such gratefulness? Paine had been nice enough to keep quiet without a fuss, and Rukia returned the other woman's smile.

Ah yes, Paine was turning out to be more than pleasant, indeed.

Ah, but humans were strange, so the shinigami had decided to simply leave it at that. But...was being a Host all that fun? Boys waited on girls, which was an odd concept to grasp even at this time.

But...to each her own, Rukia supposed. She was hardly in a position to judge, wasn't she?

Turning to where Haruhi pointed, Rukia nodded. They definitely should. Hopefully Rukia could find someone she recognized there.... "Please excuse me, then," the dark-haired young woman spoke politely to the both of them, bowing slightly. The Hell Butterfly was getting edgy, and she had to search for the others soon. "I will see you around later?"

With a final smile and a slight wave, Rukia headed inside, Hell Butterfly leading the way.

[[OOC: LOL it's okay! I'm sorry for the late response as well! Hee, I don't mind it either way~ :DD ]]

As though things weren't odd enough. This was just starting to cross the line with Paine. She wasn't fond of the whole touching thing and Haruhi was doing something most never ventured to do in their lifetime. She looked over at Rukia, silently requesting some sort of help. Any kind would do, really.

The sound of the three splitting up sounded like a good idea for the time being. Paine's attention, too, was directed to where Haruhi had pointed and she nodded her consent. She turned to Rukia at the inquiry and nodded. "Of course. Do inform me of your success." Then she gestured to Haruhi, stating the same. It would be good for the three to remain in contact.

For now, however, Paine would be interested in hearing from her fellow allies, wherever...it was that they were.

[I think I am latest compared to you two together. Terribly sorry about that. A lot's been going on and I haven't exactly had the energy to do anything at all.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Dr.P's In The House [Active]

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[ Sorry for the extreme lateness! ]

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