Dinner with Shakaku

Ezrachek went on to the place, after changing into one of his best dress clothes, without his lovely friend. She had to bandage her legs. He laughed as he thought back to the moments before, how ironic that as enemies once, they were allies now, and he hoped that they could become friends, and maybe more. He waited patiently for her to arrive.

After Shakaku bandaged up her legs and got dressed in fresh clothes, she examined herself in the mirror. She wasn't quite sure if she was supposed to dress or if it was just a friendly meeting. She didn't want to look like she was trying too hard but she didn't want to look like she was uninterested in the meal either. She settled with just a simple dress and putting her hair up. While walking to the place she thought. He was a tough fighter and he was egoistic. That angered her. He was also friendly an amiable too. She enjoyed those qualities. In the midst of her thoughts she almost walked right past the restaurant. Stopping she turned and noticed he as sitting at one of the outside tables. Good thing I dressed up, she thought. She smiled. "Hello! You dress up well!" She commented as she examined his formal attire.

Ezrachek smiled as he stood up and walked over to formally greet her and sit down with her

"Well, Hello there beautiful. I'm glad u made it before walking too far past the restaurant!

Ezrachek let out a small laugh as he sat her and pushed in her chair and then he took his. He looked at her for a moment, half feeling awkward of not knowing what to say, and half amazed by her beauty. He had opened his mouth a few times before in attempt to speak, but could come up with nothing. He nervously looked down at his menu, and silently cursed at himself for foolishly being nervous. After a few minutes of "examining" the menu, he looked up and saw her smiling face, and he built up enough confidence to speak.

"So, how did you become a shinigami?" He said nervously as he rubbed his hands together underneath the table, careful to not show her his nervous twitch

He sure is a gentleman, Shakaku thought as she sat down and looked at her menu. Glancing up she noticed that Ezrachek didn't know what to say. He just stared at her. She smiled up at him. When he asked her the question, she frowned thoughtfully. "I suppose it was just impulse," she shrugged. "I hated just hanging around doing nothing everyday. I wanted something to do! Some excitement!" She felt a rush at the previous thoughts of their battle. "So I decided to join the Academy." When the waiter brought their drinks over she stared at her water for a while before speaking again. "I always loved school." She looked up at him and laughed. "It's stupid but I always loved learning and books." Shakaku picked up her glass and spun it slightly so the water would swish around in a whirlpool fashion. "And I always got into fights with all the other kids in my neighborhood." She looked back up at him. "And won, let me mention!" She laughed. "I figured putting myself to use would be good for not only me but for other people, too." Setting down her glass she rested her head on her right palm. "What about you?"

Ezrachek smiled at her response and when the drinks arrived, he grabbed his and took a small drink of it. He frowned when he remembered his past and how he became a shinigami.

"I used to live in a small village. My mother was an Arabian terrorist who took my father from his captors, and took him as her own prisoner, but my father was always a charmer, so within a few weeks, they fell in love, moved to an abandoned place in the real world that no one had ever heard of, and they created a village for savage warriors. They had me and I began training as soon as I was physically able. I have never lost a battle, and I don't plan on it. One day a menos grande attacked my village and killed off everyone. When it went to attack me, a very strong shinigami saved my life. He fought the menos grande with blinding speed, but he sustained fatal injuries. With the last energy he had left, he gave me his shinigami powers and sent me here, and it was because of him that I vowed to never lose a fight!"

He let tears roll down his face before he lowered his head

Shakaku sat shocked by his show of emotion and his story. "Wow..." She tensed. What was she supposed to do? Under the table, she rested a hand on his knee. "Well he obviously knew you were something special." She smiled. "You should feel honored! Not sad." Pulling her hand away she rested it in her lap and sighed. "I can't even imagine losing my family. I always had my mom and dad with me." She scoffed. "A little too close to me, I must admit." She looked back at her friend. "I'm sure they all are proud of you." She scolded herself. All her responses sounded good in her head but bad when they came out. "Sorry I'm not much of a comforter."

He tensed when he felt her hand, but he liked it, and it calmed him. How tears automatically stopped. Hearing her talk about her parents, made him laugh, and for a moment he thought that perhaps he had been too rough with her in their battle. The thoughts bothered him to only a moment before he realized that the fights will get harder an he can't show mercy next time, he must never be defeated, for it would eat away at him. He looked up at her and laughed

"Well you are the only one to have ever been able to calm me so quickly, so ur a great comfort to me. I like being with you. You are very sweet."

He smiled at her as he moved closer to her side and reached towards her lap, where her hand laid. He liked her alot this point, he doesn't really ever open up to people so easily like he did with her. It at this point that he found himself letting his guard down, but he didn't care. He liked this, and for once in his life, he said screw it and decided to just live in the moment as he reached for her hand

Shakaku's heart jumped as she felt his fingers graze the back of her hand. He was brave, she'd give him that. For a split second she thought of pulling away bust quickly changed her mind. He was sweet and she liked him. Flipping her palm over, she grabbed his hand before he could pull away. Giving a toothy grin she said, "Thanks!" Giving his hand a squeeze she let go as the waiter showed up and took their order. When he left with their order, Shakaku looked at Ezrachek and and spoke. "Your name is very interesting. I've never heard a name like it. Does it mean something?"

He smiled at her and thought back to how he got his name. Both of his parents were very proud of their heritage, so both wanted him to have a name of their ethnicity. They fought over it for quite a while until they finally came to a concensus.

"My parents couldn't decide what heritage my name would be named after so they took a name they found in a book of ancient literature and they fell in love with the name. Ezrachek. Warrior of no earth. Modern translation is unearthly warrior."

He laughed at the irony of his name. He was the best fighter of his world, and now in this world, he would do whatever it takes to become the best. The food arrived and he politely waited for her to take the first bite before he ate. The food was the best he ever had, much better than the food that was captured, killed, and then cooked in his village. His interest was then peaked again.

"So when did you start classes at the academy?" He asked curiously.

Shakaku groaned. Her food was just perfect. Stuffing a huge mouthful into her jaws, she looked up when he asked his question. After she swallowed and wiped her mouth, she replied. "Just this year actually. I'm new. My parents didn't want me to but hey! I'm young. I want to piss my parents off." She gave a hearty laugh. "They refuse to come to my graduation!" She jokingly gave a pouty face but laughed again.

He laughed as he watched her eat. He continued to eat for a few bites and then looked back up and got curious.

"Yeah, I just started yesterday. The attack happened two nights ago... My fighting has been sharpened by my rage at the hollows!

Ezrachek slammed his fist into the table, shattering the glass. Just as he apologized to Shakaku, he looked up and saw something he couldn't believe. A group of hollows flowing towards him. The first one went to attack his date and he blocked that attack and slashed at the hollow. He missed, and then readied his stance to defend her

Shakaku's eyes widened with the spiritual pressure echoing through the air. Turning she saw that Ezrachek was already behind her with his sword. She stood, grabbing her sword from next to her by the long black chain and pulled it into her hands. "What's the plan?" She spoke, instinctively tensing and standing with her shoulder against her companion. She growled as she felt her dress tug from being caught on the chair. How was she supposed to fight in this. "I'm never ever wearing a dress ever again!" She growled to herself as she pulled it loose.

Ezrachek smiled at the thought of what he said next

"Well there is always the alternative of fighting nude." He chuckled at his response. He slashed at the first hollow he had missed earlier. not this time! he thought as he stabbed his zanpakuto into the hollow's midsection. He flipped forward, grabbing his blade mid-flip, and launched into the air. As the hollow reared back in pain, Ezrachek charged downward and slashed the hollow in two, from top to bottom. He evaded an attack from one and looked at his beautiful companion.

"The plan is We fight them and destroy them, One down, 5 left, and then when the battle is dpne, the Hero gets the girl"

Ezrachek gave her a teasing grin as he blocked a claw coming down to tear him from shreds. This hollow resembles a human. Ezrachek studied It's body and evaluated his attack plan. He waited for it to strike at him. He slid underneath the heavy arm which crumpled the ground where he was previously, throwing up dust to blind the hollow. Ezrachek came to the rear of the hollow and slashed off it's legs, leaving it hopelessly squirming on the ground. He looked at it, and called to Shakaku.

"You wanna finish this one off?"

She smirked and shoved her sword through the skull of the hollow, watching it dissolve into black dust. She then lunged for another hollow that resembled a giant toad. As it jumped high above her she crouched and last minute placed the handle of her sword against the ground. The hollow landed on top of it, it's black, oily blood spraying the ground before it dissolved also. When Shakaku stood she shook off the sludge from her arms and kicked off her shoes so she wouldn't be tripping on her feet if she had to move quickly. As her companion was dealing with another hollow she faced the last. It resembled an extremely large tiger. It roared and jumped towards her, paws outstretched and clawed bared. Dodging just in time, she dragged her sword along the flank of the hollow. It bellowed in pain and turned on her quicker than she expected. She dodged just barely but lost her balance in doing so. The tiger Hollow was then just about to jump again when she raised her palms and said "Bakudo number 4! Hainawa!" Energy ropes then entangled the hollow, making it immobile. Scrambling to pick up her sword she slashed down in one quick movement and the hollow dissolved. Shakaku stood still for just a few seconds before a large smile spread across her face. "Yes! I did it!" Unable to contain her excitement she bounced up and down on her toes.

Ezrachek laughed as he started to circle around the last hollow, which resembled an octopus with razors on it's tentacles. This was no doubt the leader of the pack, and was the strongest. It lashed out at Ezrachek. Dodging, he swung his zanpakuto in an arc downward onto the tentacle, which was severed. The hollow squirmed in pain, then relaxed as the tentacle grew back. Ezrachek let out a silent curse as he saw the recover of the limb. The hollow was now livid and lashed out at Ezrachek as he quickly dodged the first strike. It then lashed out very quickly and very rapidly. Ezrachek was nearly cut to shreds. The razors ripped through layers of meat and skin, spinning Ezrachek in circles, and then one final strike to the center of Ezrachek that would have his stomach. He luckily raised his zanpakuto to deflect the strike. He lost grip as he was shoved backwards. He hit the ground hard as he landed, and his zanpakuto flew high into the air. He looked over to Shakaku as he saw her make a final strike on the tiger-looking hollow. He could only think about he would never let anyone or anything hurt her. He looked back over at the hollow commander. He struggled to get up as he saw it stalking towards her.

"Hado #5!" Ezrachek shouted as he blasted a white beam from his hands, blinding everyone in the area. He ran and jumped onto the hollow as It shook violently to free itself from his grip. He jumped from its bac and grabbed his zanpakuto in mid-air. He noticed a tentacle shooting into the sky towards him. Ezrachek threw his zanpakuto towards the hollow with all the strength he had left. He watched as it seeped deep into the core of the hollow, and it burst, spraying black, oily blood all over the area.

Ezrachek fell hopelessly to the ground. Hitting hard as he landed, he let out a painful gasp, and could not stand, for he was cut too many times, and used the rest of his energy killing the hollow. He laid there temporarily paralyzed, waiting.

Shakaku saw a flash of blinding light. She winced and shielded her eyes with her arm. When the light died away she then heard a dull thud. Gasping, she saw Ezrachek, badly injured and lying on the floor. "Oh no." She ran towards him and dropped to her knees. The blood was steadily seeping out of his wounds. She wasn't sure how long he would last with the blood loss. "Oh no... Ezrachek? Can you hear me?" She grabbed his arm and pulled it over her shoulder. "I have to get you to a hospital, okay?" She stood and groaned. He was heavier than she expected him to be and his height didn't make her 5' 4" self easy for him to be carried. "Can you walk?" She grunted, shifting her feet so she could balance his weight against her.

"I can barely stand, I can't walk. Not yet anyway."

Ezrachek ripped off his shirt, revealing his muscular chest and abdomen. He started ripping the shirt into threads and wrapping his wound.

"I was a medic in the militia that my village, never let a single soldier die, I dont plan during myself." He grunted as he finished up his wounds. He grabbed his zanpakuto and placed it on the inside of his leg. He wrapped it firmly to the side of his leg, making it a splint. He limped over to Shakaku and announced that he could walk, but wanted her close by in case his leg gave out again. He secretly used it as an excuse to put his arm around her

"Oh! That's good." She pulled a chair over so he could sit. She then grabbed another and scooted it close to him so if he needed to he could lean on her. She sighed. "I'mm sorry I couldn't get you you fast enough." She smiled widely as she remembered herself using a kidou move. "I'm terrible at kidou. That was my first time to successfully use one. I have been spending so much time in the library and with my proctors trying to get the techniques right but i could never get it!" She growled. "Frustrated the hell out of me!" She looked at Ezrachek and smiled. "I did it, though!" She sighed and adjusted herself under his arm. "Maybe I just needed a little mental push." She chuckled.

He smile at her and leaned on her to take off pressure on his wounds. He looked up at her and smiled widely.

"You are a great warrior, and a wonderful shinigami, student or not, you're amazing. That was my first time performing a hado spell, I only watched it happen by the proctors, and it wasnt even until I was blinded that I realized that I even said anything."

Ezrachek laughed and then caughed in pain as he arched is back, even laughter, was hurting him badly. He knew he only had 4 or 5 minutes left on his date before he needed serious medical attention. He wanted to make the most of it. He wasn't sure of the outcome of his next actions, but he couldnt care less. He sat up halfway, seering pain in his abs, but they wouldn't stop him. He leaned in toward her beautiful face, in attempt to kiss her.

Shakaku's mind didn't yet register what was going on until she felt his lips press against hers. She pulled away instinctively and saw him wince at her sudden jerk. "Uhh..." She said her eyes wide. "I d-didn't mean that in a bad way," she apologized hastily. "It's just so sudden." She instantly regretted all the words that came out of her mouth. She didn't want to hurt him but everything was moving so fast she felt slightly dizzy. "It's not that I don't like you! It's just..." She stumbled over her words. She wasn't usually an awkward person. Closing her eyes and breathing deeply, she calmed herself. Looking at him, she stretched up to kiss his cheek. "I had a good time. Regardless of the near death experiences in all." She brushed the hair out of her face and grinned widely. "You should probably get some rest."

He smiled, not worried of the awkward events. He laid back and rested for some time.

"I need to go to the hospital to get these wounds taken care of. Hopefully we can have another date sometime soon after I get all healed up." Ezrachek grunted as he stood up and waved a goodbye to her as he started to walk toward the hospital.

Shakaku smiled and gave a salute. "Bye bye Tripmine!" She yelled jokingly. After sitting in her chair for a while, she eventually stood and walked back to her own home, contemplating the days events.