Sidetracked (Spotlight)

Shakaku wandered through the streets of Kakakura Town, her yes wide with shock and amazement. It had been so long since she had been in the city, she forgot how it felt to have busy people all around you and the smell of food wafting from the restaurants and shops. Before she had died, she never really looked at her home the way she did now. Now it seemed to her that it was full of adventures and stuff just waiting to be found. Eventually she wandered out of the city and into the more rural part of Karakura. The sun was warm and the wind blew softly, rustling the leaves on the trees. A small stream meandered it's way through lush green grass and into a mysterious looking woods.
Shakaku was in the human world looking for any troubles or suspicious activity, such as hollows or souls that need to be sent to the Soul Society. It was her first mission and she felt like a foal, unsure on her new legs but excited to start running.
Finding out that the whole city was in peace was a little disappointing but Shakkau didn't mind the break to enjoy the feelings of being in the human world again. She sat in the grass, looking at the stream which turned into a bubbling brook before it disappeared withing the forest. She sighed and closed her eyes, soaking in all the senses of everything around her.

Alex moved to escape the Forrest. He was more or less running from a battle he knew he would lose. Damn hollows snuck up on him in the darkest part of the Forrest. As he got to the light he had taken out half of them through his shadow manipulation. The other half had split up one half tracking the other retreating or gathering reinforcements.  He got out to the sun lit area and sighed as he let loose some flames. The flames devoured the last of the hollows and saved him before snuffing each other out leaving the Forrest relatively untouched. 
He then sighed as he began to watch the river run. He turned and started to walk. As he did so he would sigh as it was starting to become a normal day. His sword at his side his ears and tail out yup completely normal. He looked to the side near the riverbank and saw a girl. He shrugged maybe she could provide interesting conversation. That being said he would approach her catching the scent of a Shinigami for a moment. He ignored it and said finally.
"Hey there Miss mind if I ask what your doing?"

Shakaku sat up, shaken from her thoughts at the sound of a man's voice. Glancing over her right shoulder, she noticed a figure standing a little ways away. He was probably keeping his distance from her. He looks worn and tired but welcome to say the least. "Hello! I'm not doing anything but enjoying this fine day." She grinned, keeping her tone welcome and amiable. Nothing about this man told her to be nice but she wasn't going to let her guard down quite yet. Something seemed a little unusual about him, though. The scratches, bumps and bruises seemed unusual for someone who just got tripped up travelling through the woods. She disregarded his features and smiled. "Would you like to join me? I have some food and drink if you want some." Anxiety prickled within her stomach. If this was an undercover scout from the Soul Society, she would be in trouble considering she was here in a mission. If her captain found out about her idling around like she was on vacation, he would have her head mounted on his wall in a second. I'm sure taking a little break isn't wrong, she convinced herself otherwise. I'll only take a few minutes before I get back to work.

Alex looked at her she sat there. she had greeted him fine though as he stood closer to her it seemed the scent he smelled earlier strengthened. Might just be the damn fox instincts. anyway he continued to look at her she looked to be 2 years younger then he. she was pretty though he wasn't sure if she was hiding something or not. He took a chance and took her offer.

Alex was a rather tall 21 year old looking light skinned black male. He was wearing a pair of Converses black socks. Along with that he wore a pair of black ripped skinny jeans which were just below waist to avoid discomfort with his tail. They were a bit to low so basketball shorts were worn underneath . He also wore a black shirt with a deep V that was adorned with a series of Kanji going down it. Finally he wore a sleeveless jacket that was left open revealing the complicated tribal tattos on his arm. Depending on whether she could see spiritual beings or not she might see a black fox tail and ears.
"It would Be My pleasure Miss. I am Alex by the way"

Shakaku smiled politely and handed him some sushi she picked up from one of the stores in the city. "I'm Shakaku. Take as much as you would like." She hadn't had sushi in so long before she had bought them so her mouth was watering with anticipation. As he took the food from her, she sensed some unusual spiritual pressure coming from him. It wasn't like a hollow's or a shinigami's, either. It wasn't weaker but it was... stranger than what she was used to. She looked him up an down, trying to keep it subtle so not to embarrass her companion. We're those... ears? Fox ears? She blinked a couple times. They must not be real. Probably some fad here on earth I'm missing out on, she convinced herself as she looked into the stream that brightly colored koi were swimming around in there. "Do you... live here?" She asked with casual interest. She wanted to know more about this figure that approached her, why he was so fatigued and why he had such strange spiritual energy. It was probably all being made up in her head (she was always told that she spent too much time with the suspicious members of her squad) but she wanted to make sure he wasn't going to be a threat to her, the Soul Society, or the human world. She was here to make sure everyone was in line, anyways.

The girl handed him a small tin of sushi. Wow somehow she had gotten his favorite meal right. Nah it was a lucky guess they had just met after all. He looked her over she seemed normal at least in appearance. Her scent seemed to be like a Shinigami. How odd to say the least but who cared. He surely didn't. "Thank you Shakaku-San. Sushi really is a favorite of mine." he opened the tin and began to eat with the provided utensils. As he ate his ears flicked in nervousness. 

Alex said next as he finished the Salmon Roll in response to her question. "You could say something of the sort. Anyway I have an odd question. I'm talking really Odd to be honest. Do you believe Shinigami to be real Shakaku-San?" his trust for Shinigami gone if she was one he wasn't sure of he could over look that detail.  But then again that all depends on her answer. 

Shakaku smiled with satisfaction as she seemed to have his favorite food. Sushi was on of her's, though she wasn't much of a fish eater. It was the first restaurant she had ran into when shopping and she was hungry. When Alex asked her the question of her knowing what Shinigami were, she chewed her sushi slowly, contemplating whether it was alright for her to tell the truth to him or not. He must be aware of Shinigami since he asked about them but was he a friend of a foe? Nervous tension trickled within her heart but she kept her voice steady when answering. "I'm not going to hurt you if that's what you're trying to get at. I'm not that kind of Shinigami." She said slowly, looking at Alex. She noticed his ears twitching and realized they were real. That's probably how he knew what she was, whatever he was at least. He didn't give any signs that he was going to attack her but she kept her body alert just in case he made a move.

Alex looked at her she seemed nervous. He then listened to her response as he countinued to eat. He sighed she showed an emotion the ones previous hadn't. He looked down as he thought about what he would say. His mind was divided to say the least. Half of his mind wanted to Forsake her for she was part of what had killed his family friends and committed Genocide on his people. Then there was his other half of mind which wanted to accept her words and be civil. He sighed as he looked back at her. He was really going to need a drink after this. "Alright Shakaku-San. Truthfully I am putting this simple. My instincts want me to forsake you. But I am going to rise above that because you have shown me kindness that few of your people have done whether it be to me or to what my people once were. Now I am sure you can see what the world fails to see about me. My unusual ears and my tail. Well I am a Kitsune  or Fox spirit as the legends say. Now any questions say them now please. " he sighed and countinued to eat the sushi. He took out his sword sheethe and all and tossed it to the side as a sign of peace. He would then countinue to eat his sushi. Before smiling at her. 

Shakaku, a little shocked by his gesture of peace, nodded with acceptance. "My squad hasn't told me of the genocide of your people. I'm sorry they make it to be so casual..." She did feel a flicker of resentment towards the Soul Society. They always have other people clean up their messes so they look perfect and pristine when they have caused so much trouble to so many people. Nevertheless, she was protective of them and refused to say anything more. She offered him a drink and she continued to eat her sushi. "I was wondering if those were real," She remarked, glancing at his ears. "Can humans see them? Can they even see you?" She was amazed how many other things are going on that humans don'e even know about, being in her gigai where other people could see her but still spotting an occasional spirit was quite unusual for her. It was hard not to say something to a spirit and not have all the humans look at her weird. For all she knew, humans might see her as offering up her food and talking with thin air for they might not be able to see this man. She could only imagine the embarrassment she would feel at everyone's accusing, suspicious eyes on her. So, for her sake, she prayed people were able to see Alex.

Alex looked at her and smiled. "Don't mention it I'm just glad you are not like that. Thank you again for the sushi." he looked at her a moment a smile filled with emotion painted across his face. Then he heard the other comment. Could people see him. He replied simply "Yes I am able to be seen. My other features can not as of yet due to some quirks in this state. So allow me to explain further. All of my race used to be able to go into three states. The first called an avatar state allows us to be seen by humans though only by a select few. The second and third I refuse to tell you about cause there is a tails discussion with that. And it gets really complicated." he finnished his plate and laid back on the grass. This was gonna be a long day. He decided to take a chance and said "Hey you want to go catch a movie Or something later. On me?" he smiled weakly  and awaited a response. 

Shakaku sighed loudly and laughed. "Thank goodness! I was worried I was talking to... well nothing!" She continued laughing. "That would have been sooo embarrassing!" She rubbed the back of her head and grinned. "That's very interesting. Do you think there are any books written about you guys? They probably are all wrong but I might go check them out." She took the plate from him and dusted off the rice kernels still left over before placing it back into her back with the empty container that once held the sushi. She was still slightly hungry since she hadn't expected to be sharing her meal with anyone but she didn't mind.
Shakaku looked at Alex, slightly surprised by his offer. She thought about the time she had to return to the Soul Society. There wasn't any troubles going on and she didn't sense any unusual spiritual pressure. What was the harm in accepting his offer? She smiled happily. "Really? Wow I'd love to! It's been a long time since I've been to the movies I can't even remember the last movie I saw." She thought hard but couldn't think of it. The last time she had been to the movie theaters, it was very bad quality of film and the sound was awful. It had been a while since she had died so she was excited to see how a new and improved movie was like.

He laughed a bit with her. it was sorta sad now that he thought about it. he then began to respond to her question. Books about his kind. Now that was something he had never tried to find. though it was true he had an extra tome of the history of kitsune it revealed too much to be given too her. he had been to a few book stores to see how much humans knew about his race. they knew little to nothing which releived him. but then again what if they had learned more and decided to hide what they knew. the world was full of corruption and that wouldnt be too far beyond their reach."Well I guess you could look into the japanese folklore. it cointains a few storys of my race. Then maybe if your lucky i will show you the actual history of my race ok?" he smiled at her and got up slowly. he thought about what was playing. He then offered her his hand as it was a habbit he had formed. And it was also something he enjoyed doing. It allowed him to sometimes get a look into the eyes. some said the eyes were the door way to the soul. he was one of those peoples. I'll let you decide on the movie okay Shakaku-chan?

Shakaku shrugged her bag onto her shoulder and grabbed his hand, hoisting herself up with an oof. She looked up at Alex, which was a great deal taller than her and smiled, gratefully. "I'll make sure it's a movie we both want to see. I'm sure we have similar tastes since we both seem to have good taste in food," she chuckled and looked up, feeling slightly nervous to be going somewhere with this man that she had just met. She was confident in her fighting abilities but he looked more experienced than her, so he had the advantage. She shook her head, attempting to rid her mind of all negative thoughts. You're way too cautious, she scolded herself in her head. "Are we going to be in the city? I enjoy it there since I haven't been in a big city in ages," she asked as they began to walk. She meant it out of pure, innocent curiosity but it came out a little more timid and suspicious than she had meant it to.

Alex looked at Shakaku she was pretty smart. He knew that should he trust her fully he would have a great friend and comrade. She made him rethink his hate of the Shinigami. She was trustworthy but he decided to give her a test. He picked up his discarded weapon and examined it a moment. He then sighed as he knew what he had to do. He walked over to Shakaku and said Please do me a favor and hold my blade. I feel like I can trust you with my main form of defense. he waited to see her reaction and nodded at the last of her words. "we will be going into the city." he then continued to walk with her. 

Shakaku looked at his face, his sword and then back at his face, confused by his actions. She shook her head. "That's not necessary. If you tried to harm me you would have done it already while no one was watching, not within city limits. And even if you did make a move, I have a perfectly sharpened sword, too, you know. And I can use it pretty damn well, if I do say so myself." She pushed his sword back towards his body and smiled, slyly. "Besides, you might need that just in case I pick a terrible movie." She turned and looked towards the city skyline. "You'll have to show me the way for I don't know my way around the city very well. It's been a long time since I've been back."

He thought about her words. He then sighed and shrugged before placing the sword at his waist. He then smiled at her and nodded. He would then say “Alright Well Follow me I guess. I barely go around town anyway.” He would then walk towards the street and wait for her. If she did he would begin to walk towards the movie theater after making a movement for her to go infront. “Ladies first” he would then follow after her thinking as the theater was a little over 3 blocks away.

Shakaku's lips curved upward in a grin. There weren't many people who still practiced the old school traditions that she so greatly adored. The pair walked together through the bustling streets filled with businessmen, mothers and their children, homeless people, a drunkard here and there, distracted teens on their phones and the occasional little yappy dog. It seemed as if the city itself was a breathing, living creature that lay curled in a ball on top of the Earth's surface. She was always a lover of the city, her own mother teaching her the ways of stretching your dollar through as many shopping centers as possible, how to pick out a good restaurant, and knowing which kind of people to avoid by just glancing at them. She realized part of her difficultly adjusting to the Soul Society was that it was so much smaller and more traditional than the never ending liveliness of the city she lived in before she died.
"So where do kitsune normally live? Do you guys blend in with the humans or do you have your own society? And if you're alone now where do you stay?" Shakaku questioned in a raised voice to make sure that her companion could hear her over the noises of people and traffic. She chose this method of conversation because to him, it might seem like small talk when she was actually collecting information on his kind. She didn't plan on using it against him any time soon but she wanted to be more knowledgeable on all kinds of spiritual beings that roam the Human World. Maybe the more knowledge she has, the more cunning of a Shinigami she would become.

Alex continued to walk as he looked up his hands in his pockets and his tail visible for all with spiritual power to see. He smiled a little as his energy fluctuated slightly from anxiousness. He then sighed as he looked at the city. It was so like his previous home it was uncanny. The similarities in size and population was noted. Even some designs were similar to the races older ones mostly the churches and temples. And as he walked he started to miss his old home and his family and friends. But then he looked over at Shakaku who was on his left. She was interesting and he felt he could trust her so as she asked her question he answered. "Where we live was dependent on our choice. We had our own society but the ruins are too much for the few survivors to repair on our own. And me I was a bit different. I was a prince but I never lived in a fancy castle I lived on my own since I reached a mature age and so I lived in an apartment. As for where I live now it's an apartment. And here we are now at the movies." he sighed in relief and moved to open the door for her cursing the training he had received most his life. "anyway why so many questions?"

As the two walked into the movie theater, Shakaku made note of his noble past. No wonder he was so gracious to her even though she was a stranger! "Oh no reason! Just making conversation..." Her voice faded when she began studying the large movie posters, contemplating which film she and her newly acquired friend would enjoy seeing. The array of choices seemed limitless; a secret agent that is being hunted down by the government, two star-crossed lovers trying to make a lost relationship work, a man struggling to make ends meet that gets a mysterious hunk of cash in the mail, and, for the children, a lost baby dolphin attempting to find her pod that she got separated from, meeting some new friends and singing songs about teamwork along the way. "Is there anything you want to see? I'm not even sure which actors are good or what effects they have in these movies anymore." Shakaku sighed, a little overwhelmed by all the giant faces of actors she had never seen before, staring at her with unblinking eyes. The last thing she wanted to do was pick a movie that Alex didn't enjoy seeing because, frankly, she just wanted to see a movie after all those years, not caring about if it had good ratings or was up for any awards.

He looks at her and looks up and smiles. He then moves to make sure his sword was at his side. He then after checking moved his hands to his neck and grabbed his necklace which had his dads fox ball. He then looked up and said "I really don't pay attention to movie details. I guess a horror or action movie would be good. What do you think?" he looks at her pointing out the two movies of that type playing. He then looked up noticing that the sword seemed to get a lot of attention as it looked like a keychain to most humans.