In which... [ CLOSED ]

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Character(s): Rabi, Shunsui, Ashe, Isaac, and... uh, anyone else? (As if it wasn't hectic enough.)
Content: Rabi makes friends. His friends are looking for their friends. And their "friends" are trying to get the hell out of there. D:
Setting: Actua Are near the center of Paixao.
Time: Saturday Afternoon (after he reclaims his crack journal).
Warnings: None.

Not even a week later, Pie-sores was starting to bore him. As much as he liked the idea of having a place to stay (nobody knew they were dirt poor, and he wasn't about to tell them), the Actua Are wasn't all that exciting. And nobody had responded to their post about wanting a job. In other words, they were pretty much screwed.

It didn't help that Yuu had disappeared to God knows where. He hadn't seen him since the boy stole his journal, but now that he'd found it again he figured the exorcist was somewhere in the area. He wouldn't be surprised if "Sunshine" (and he now worshipped whoever coined the nickname) had taken off. At least he was kind enough to leave his journal behind.

And so it was that Rabi decided to go... exploring, for lack of a better term. He couldn't stand staying inside anyway, plus it gave him a chance to interact with people. If Yuu was around, he'd see him eventually. They were both broke. He probably hadn't gone far.

Like any explorer, Rabi felt he needed to make some kind of great discovery. Preferably one along the lines of "why the hell am I here?" He didn't have to look far for it, either; it was still early in the afternoon, and people were out and about. The bookman trainee saddled up next to a young blonde-haired, blue-eyed woman across the street from the Actua Are... who seemed completely oblivious until he finally cleared his throat and offered her a lopsided grin that in his mind said "hey baby" but in hers said "I'm stupid."

"So, how'd you get here?" he asked. It was a great ice breaker that could not only bring him one step closer to finding out where he was but might also proceed as such: "I'm lost, you're lost, let's both be lost together I'm staying at the Actua Are okay thank you."

Unfortunately, that's not how things worked here. Instead of answering his question, she merely raised an eyebrow and countered with: "...excuse me?" Rabi didn't catch on that she wasn't from another world.

"Well, I thought I was fighting some AKUMA, but outta nowhere I'm just... here, you know?" he said. "You probably don't know what AKUMA are, though, do you? See, where I come from..."

It wasn't until he got to his explanation (or was about to get to it) that he looked up and realized she wasn't even there. In fact, she was headed down the street at a brisk, "get me out of here"-pace.

The little grin on his face wilted and died. Even his hair drooped a little. So much for that.

[EDIT] This thread is now closed because we need to move on! Please to go Linali's thread.

Comments

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(OOC: Hope it's okay if I hop in here. If not, I'll go away. n_n)

There was a man in flambouyant robes standing under the awning of one of the other buildings near the Actua Are. He had been walking, napping, and drinking for awhile, off and on, to the point where he was disoriented. He had no idea how many hours or days or weeks had passed since he'd arrived through Joutenheim Gate. When the rain had fallen, he'd kept himself dry by wandering from awning to awning, or tilting his straw hat over his eyes.

Shunsui's general direction was towards the spirit force he sensed--that of his vice-captain, Ise Nanao. It wasn't very strong or easy to find for him, since he was tipsy and there were many conflicting spirit-forces around, ones that Shunsui had never felt before. In response, the man felt it wise to keep his own spiritual presence at a cool simmer; he had no idea whether this was the mortal world or not, but he was certain that it wasn't Soul Society.

What had attracted Shunsui's attention to Rabi was his shock of red hair. What held his attention to Rabi was one of the odd women of this world giving him the cold shoulder. Shunsui couldn't help but smile a little; he'd had personal experience in that kind of thing. It was heartening for him to find a little humanity among all the blonde-haired, blue-eyed drone-like people in the city.

"Don't be disheartened," Shunsui called from under his awning. A half-empty sake bottle hung in his hand. "There is always another blossom more lovely to be caught."

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"Hmm, I could be, I might not be," Shunsui's expression read quaint confusion, "As long as we're alive and have something to drink...I vote, it doesn't really matterrrr where I'm from. It would help, of course..."

Shunsui paused, and it might have seemed somewhat random if onlookers didn't know he was casting about for spiritual auras. Perhaps this red-haired character standing in front of him was wearing an eyepatch to continuously drain his spiritual powers, much like Zaraki Kenpachi? Shunsui was trying to figure it all out, but the alcohol was laughing as it tugged and pulled his mind out of focus.

"...If the women were friendlier." Upon finishing his laborious statement, Shunsui took a few steps from under the awning, scratching at the hair under his hat.

To Shunsui, there seemed to be many clones of Ise Nanao; Everyone worried in their tasks, always busy, never relaxing. They weren't very fun to tease, either. They kept running away before he could properly introduce himself!

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"Hmmm," said Shunsui, "Yes. I find things, and I lose them. I keep finding sake..." He held up his half-finished bottle, then produced a full one from his sleeve, "Which is all well and good, but where is the fun in drinking if there is no one to tell you when enough is enough? There's no way to know when you are properly drunk."

He gave a huge sigh, as if this was truly a tragic situation. Then he smiled, hoping to put Rabi more at ease. "Who are you?"

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Shunsui continued to smile, clasping hands with Rabi.

"Kyourakou Shunsui," said Shunsui, "Pleasure to meet you, pleasure."

After a firm handshake, he let go. Red spots started appearing on Shunsui's pink clothes, and a few raindrops started tapping on his hat.

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Shunsui's eyebrows went up a little. "No, I haven't run into anyone like that," he told Rabi quietly. Surely if there were ANYone resembling a Japanese girl along his haphazard route, Shunsui would have turned to look. "I don't suppose you've run into any girls who wear glasses and object very strongly to being kissed?"

The wind started to pick up. The raindrops were becoming awfully cold. The clouds were grey and hung in the sky ominously. Shunsui drew his hands into his sleeves to keep them warm. His sentiments were similar to Rabi's. Being inside seemed like quite a good idea. Being inside, warm and drunk, sounded even better.

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Shunsui nodded, making a mental note to ask Rabi more about the girl with glasses that he'd met. Shunsui had been certain he'd sensed Nanao around somewhere nearby, earlier in the week...A nice big flash of reiatsu that was unmistakably hers, unless Shunsui had been too loopy at the time to truly recognize it. His hopes were higher than before.

"Oi. Yeah. Inside would be lovely. Also, you should always offer to kiss every nice girl you meet! The worst they can do is decline it, after all."

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Shunsui chuckled deeply. He followed Rabi into the Actua Are through elaborate glass doors. Though he was not a suspicious man by nature, he did glance around the lobby to make sure that it wasn't loaded with hollows. What he saw were nicely polished marble floors, red velvety carpet (so plush that he could just imagine his toes sinking about two inches deep into them) and gold accented chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. The walls seemed to be made of rich mahogany wood. "Ritzy" seemed to be the catch-all phrase to be used in this Actua Are.

Shunsui paused and pushed back his hat. When Rabi asked him a question, he responded, "My...world? Oh my. So this is another world." He quirked an eyebrow and a smile. "Are we from the same place, though? I'm certain I would have noticed you in Soul Society, what with your strange reiatsu." Shunsui seemed to ignore Rabi's question about how he got there. "I'm so tiiired of standing. Let's sit down."

Shunsui was eyeing some richly upholstered chairs near an empty grand piano.

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Rabi laughed through Shunsui's statement, but the captain assumed that the bookman was listening anyway.

Shunsui flopped onto a chair. He seemed to melt all over it, he relaxed so quickly. "Ahhh." Pity that they had wooden backings, but it was better than what Shunsui had had to sit on for a few days going.

"Japan was such a long, looong time ago!" Shunsui had to laugh too, rubbing his eyebrows too. "Yeeeah, I guess I was from there. Not sure what you're saying about me and me?" Scritchy scratch. His eyebrows were pretty itchy. "We must not be from the same place after allll. Pity."

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Here Shunsui stopped scratching his eyebrow. "Hmmmm? Akuma?"

He hoped he had stated that with enough of an inquiring tone so Rabi would take awhile to explain them. Why waste time and breath with grammar and properly articulated sentences, anyway?

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Shunsui took this in stride. Though he'd hoped to have a more solid explanation (actually, any explanation at all would have been nice), he was used to withheld information. And at least this wasn't Captain Mayuri huddled over his oh-so-important computers and sneering at everyone who wanted information without going through proper protocol. Rabi was much mroe pleasant to hang around.

"Reiatsu..." Shunsui started, as though about to tell a story of epic proportions. All the definitions he'd learned in death god school, pored over, memorized...None of them came to mind, of course. Not even the Old Man's wheezy lectures crossed the tracks to Shunsui's train of thought. "Is...spirit power. Yeah."

Was there really much more to say? Shunsui looked at Rabi's hammer. It still struck him as odd that all the reiatsu seemed to be emanating from -that-, instead of the person who carried it. He wondered if a wayward ghost, loaded with spiritual energy, had gotten stuck inside the object.

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"Hmm, we're very similar in our jobs," Shunsui commented, "Where I'm from, we battle things called 'hollows.' Your, ahh...AKUMA, isn't it? Sound very similar to Hollows. Souls trapped in evil bodies, or in your case, machines. It's very saddening."

Shunsui moved his hat, which had been slipping over his eyes a little. "Weeeell, I think we're fortunate that those entities don't seem to be around, here. Even though you look more than capable of handling something like a Hollow..." Here a smile to return Rabi's lopsided one. "I mean, there's time for other things...other -pursuits-..." The smile widened.

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"Only the most noble of pursuits," Shunsui drawled, "Why...The pursuit of happiness, of course! There is nothing to do, really, other than find good sake, naps, and women. As long as we aren't being attacked or under training, why not enjoy ourselves?"

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Scowling a little under her breath, she uses the towel offered to her by the hotel staff to dry herself a bit before returning it with a forced smile. She had taken the train from Morem O Lisboa to the center of the city as she had no idea where she should start looking for Isaac from so she might as well start from the center and see where she goes from there. She was planning on taking a stroll around the place while looking around for the red-haired man, but the sky decided to let loose the moment she stepped out of the station and so she was forced to run to the nearest place she can shelter on.

Tidying up her clothing a bit, she walks into the lobby and plops down on one of the sofas; feeling rather disappointed that she might not be able to find Isaac today. Suddenly, however, from the corner of her eyes she spots a red head among the blonde-haired residents of Paixao. Quickly standing up to her feet, she strides over to the man facing away from her.

She hesitates for a moment, wondering what approach would be best for the mentally-unstable man she thought Rabi is. Then deciding that intimidating him would work best, she taps his shoulder and crosses her arms in front of her, "Isaac! Whoever told you to run away!"

first to shunsui, then to ashe.

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