Rain Rain go away, come again another day (Sal!!!)

Nanmei was able to actually explore, that person was gone for at least awhile so she was able to get out and away without anyone the wiser. She still loved to explore after all and really she wanted to see the sky. Her wings flapped against her back at the feel of the open air that wasn't stale either. The hollow was almost giddy with being out and about, but also hungry... oh so very hungry. Slowly she stalked the humans as she watched them. None really stood out as a female beater though yet. Wait was that human doing something bad soon? Nanmei followed him but soon lost him when he went into a movie theatre with a girl.

So maybe that one wasn't food... Suddenly though she heard the all too familiar sounds of a beating. Aha!! Quickly, as quickly as her little wings could carry her she followed the sounds. It wasn't a guy beating up on a girl though, just a common mugging really. But that was all it took for her as she set upon the bad man and began to dine. The other human though, unaware of anything but the bad guy stopping just took off screaming for help. Mmmm bad person soul does the body good!!

It was a cool night. The lights of the city spread out around him like a blanket of stars, the dark shapes of buildings, church spires and in the far distance trees filled his vision for miles.

He tipped the bottle of whiskey up and let the caramel liquid spill into his mouth and warm his throat, his legs dangling over the lip of the skyscrapers flat roof. A gust of wind whipped his brown hair across his face and tugged at his jacket and he took that as a sign to move.

He stuck the lid back on the bottle and then tilted forward, his body falling from the rooftop the howl of wind in his ears and then with a burst of Spiritual Power he landed softly upon the ground.

He wandered the quiet streets, the sauntering route was familiar, he had made it often, and found himself in the town center before long. The usual crowds were abound here, drunks, miscreants and more nefarious individuals all gathered in one place to drink their fill and sate whatever sick pleasures they had.

It paid, sometimes, to travel without a Gigai. He moved among them unseen, listened to their slurred chatter and watched as they fought, loved, lost. Of all the species in all the dimensions humanity ranked number one on the freak meter by his reckoning.

He turned a corner, a late night showing at the cinema across the street had just ended and the crowds were coming out. It was then he felt it, the dark presence lingering on the edge of his senses.

Maybe it was the copious amounts of booze or sheer boredom but for the first time in so many years Sal Norongachi actually sought out a Hollow. He followed his senses and they lead him to a darkened alleyway, rank with strewn rubbish and damp from the broken guttering of the neighboring buildings, the dark waters falling from above with an insistent pitter patter as the droplets slapped against the dark surface.

He gazed into the gloom and saw the dark shapes there, the Hollow crouched over the fallen human who pleaded weakly for help and for mercy. He wouldn't get any, Hollow weren't built for forgiveness.

Sal reached under his jacket and found the hilt of his Zanpakuto, nestled against his back hidden from view, and slid it out. The shiiiinkkk of the metal being unsheathed slashed through the silence.

"You picked the wrong place to eat out..." He said.

Nanmei was just having fun leisurely enjoying her meal, but it apparently wasn't going to last long. The words spoken, she instantly looked up and retreated back away from the person. No cage, no no no no cage!!! "Bad men get eaten...." She managed to spit out before she tried to slither along and hopefully get out of there. She had to get free she had to escape!!! She didn't want to be captured, no cage no cage no cage!!! Her eyes frantically looked around, hoping and grabbing desperately for any escape.

Flashes and glimpses of memories of old, of her time when it was raining running away from that first shinigami... This one wasn't like the one with the well, it was more like that first one.... She didn't do anything wrong!! She was just eating a bad man!!! Slowly she stopped and glanced back trying to find him, no she was a good girl!! She didn't want to run anymore, she was still hungry... maybe... maybe she could make that bad man go away then?

Sal watched as the terror took her, unmoving his eyes analyzed the situation, she was trapped. The only way to go was up and if she did that she'd find out just how quick he could be.

"Bad men get eaten..." The Hollow aid, her voice female, or as female as you can get when you're a monster. This gave him pause, stayed his hand for a moment.

"What was his crime?" He asked looking at the barely alive human quivering on the ground.

Yes she was trapped, the only way was up she realized as she started to open up her wings and flap them. Could she make it? She wasn't the fastest thing in air or on land and this guy.... Wait he started to speak, her head swiveled to look at him with her dragon like skull face covering most of her head. What was the human's crime? She blinked a few seconds not really understanding at first... Was he asking her the crime? Slowly she started to settle down and slither back just a few feet as she pointed towards a bag on the ground with one of her claws.

"Bad man... Beat other man... doing bad stuff...... About to kill other.... man...." She was able to mutter out. Her eyes glanced at the barely living human, maybe.... maybe this scare was enough to make him not bad anymore? She was still hungry though... she'd have to look for another bad man then if this guy wouldn't let her eat him. "No cage... no cage... no cage.... won't again." She started to mutter though as she slowly backed up away again as images of the past shinigami fluttered through her mind of chasing her. No just wanted to catch her so luring into false sense of security, yes yes that was it.

Sal's stare was unreadable as the Hollow spoke. Its words were fractured, afraid, some might as far to say there was mental trauma behind that white mask. Then again if you ate people for a living you'd be traumatized too.

Was it really the place of a Hollow to deal death and judgement upon humanity? No, they gave up that right when they became what they are. Monsters who cause nothing but destruction.

He turned his gaze to the human for a moment and then back to the Hollow. "Run, run as fast as you can. Pray i don't catch you..." He growled.

Nanmei turned her head almost all the way upside down as she stared at this thing who interrupted her meal and asked why she did it. She said why right, then that would be a good enough reason... But no he told her to run as fast as she possibly could so she just frowned a bit confused. But she opened her wings as she got ready to fly away.

"okay... so not as bad man don't get eaten... so bad men who hurt females then get eaten okay....."

With a decisive nod though the odd and rather insane hollow took off as fast as her little wings could carry her. It was faster then if she slithered or walked of course considering how short her legs were. As she ran however the rain started to come, it helped calm her down and would help with her escape hopefully.

Though now she was starving really, she frowned as she remembered slightly whatever or whomever that was that stopped her just a few seconds ago. So he didn't like it? or did he just put on airs like that one person.... Nanmei just shook her head, no she would have to just eat a worse man then that then. But there weren't that many bad men like that out and about... Wait she knew!!! She could go to one of those cage places for humans and figure out a meal there!!!

With a little trill to herself she raced around as she tried to find a jail, they would have extremely bad men there right? Did she know how to read? could she understand who was the worst and who was there without doing anything bad? That stopped her in mid flight as she sat in a tree and slumped.

"Then... what type bad men.... do eat...." She frowned as she talked to herself trying to hide within the tree while she thought. Though it was fractured and she kept getting distracted by shiny things. But with that she quickly started to run off again farther away.

((left))