A Trip to Sabitsura (Open)

The streets of Sabitsura were sad indeed. They were lined with trash and litter, the air stunk of something rotting but what was most saddening were the people, dressed in rags and many without shoes. There were children that looked dirty and miserable, searching the empty bags on the side of the road for anything valuable to sell but without luck. The men and women bustled along, surprisingly ignoring the downtrodden children hiding in the shadows.

Shakaku walked through the streets with a look of dismay on her face. How could these people live in such a poor quality of life? Many of the inhabitants stopped to watch as she passed through, some with looks of curiosity, some with a face of suspicion and anger and, though few, some of the people looked at her admirably. She kept her spiritual pressure low so not to weaken any of the souls to the point of hunger. "Excuse me. Pardon me." She murmured as she weaved in and out of the crowds of people. It sickened her to see such poverty and it made her gut churn even more when she recalled telling all the souls she was helping pass over into this world that it was a wonderful place. This is wonderful? This is what they have to look forward to? No wonder there were so many critical looks for what she and the other Shinigami were telling the souls in the world of the living was that the Soul Society was such a fabulous place when, in fact, it was even worse than the scuzzy slums she had seen in the human world.

"Hey! Put that back! You little runt, get back here!" Shakaku turned at the sounds of a man's yelling to see a young boy hurdling directly towards her with a look of fear written across his face. A little ways behind him was a rugged looking man that was chasing him with a large wooden stick in hand. Wrapping her arm around the boy's waist, she stopped him in his tracks and spun him around to face her while keeping a firm grasp on his shoulder in case he planned on making an escape. She held up her palm in the direction of the fuming man, ordering him to stop. By the time both the boy and man caught their breath, a crowd had gathered around her and the two she had stopped. "What's all the ruckus about?" She questioned the man. "And put that bat down! You are civilized people, aren't you?" The man dropped the stick at his feet without looking away from her with nervous eyes. "M-miss Shinigami. This street rat here," he pointed at the boy angrily. "He stole from my shop! Precious candy that I spent a fortune on! And he thought he could get away with it. Why I outa..." He growled fiercely and took a step closer to the young boy that was cowering at Shakaku's feet. Kneeling down, she looked the boy in the eye. "Is this true? Did you steal from him?" she asked calmly and held out her hand. The boy gulped and nodded his head, pulling the bag of candy out from his pants pocket. With a shaky hand, he placed it on her outstretched palm. "You know it's not good to steal. Hasn't anyone taught you that? If you plan on becoming a Shinigami anytime soon then you better learn quickly." She smiled and patted the young boy on the head. "Here. I'll pay for it." She walked to the storekeeper and handed him a couple coins for the pitiful bag of candy. "I'm sorry this boy was so much trouble to you. I'll make sure that he doesn't steal from you again." The man took the money and dropped it into his pants pocket. "Well... I suppose I'll just let that brat off with a warning this time. Thank you." Giving one last dagger-eyed glare to the boy, the storekeeper marched back in the direction he came. Now that the crowds were beginning to thin, Shakaku walked back to the child and knelt down, placing the bag of candy into his hand. His eyes were wide from shock and nervousness. "Why thank you miss Shinigami. Y-you really didn't have to do that..." He looked at his feet, clearly ashamed of his actions. Shakaku chuckled. "Well it's the least I could do. Now this isn't a reward for stealing! You have to work for the things you really want. But... I think you deserve something a little sweet in such a sour place." She sighed, feeling sympathy for the boy. "Don't feel sad for me miss Shinigami! I'm gonna be a Shinigami just like you one day! And I'll be the best of the best!" The boy stood a little straighter and a glimmer of determination twinkled in his eyes. Shakaku grinned and stood, dusting the dirt from her hakama pants. "Well I sure will be looking forward to seeing you there! It's lovely seeing such determination in such a young boy. What is your name?" "Kesshin, miss Shinigmai." "I'll make sure to remember that, Kesshin. Make sure not to eat all that candy at one time. Goodbye!"

Shakaku bid the young boy farewell and continued walking through the streets of the awful place these people called home. Eventually, she came across a little restaurant that was just on the outskirts of the major part of town. Walking into the restaurant, she realized it was more liquor than food which disappointed her even more. Though she was never one to drink, she ordered some saké and sat at the stool closest to the wall. Thankfully, the bartender wasn't one for talking since she wasn't in the mood for conversation either. This place has me utterly depressed, Shakaku sulked as she sipped the sweet tasting drink and stared off into the distance. Even the saké tastes lifeless.

Downtrodden, this place was where it seemed that all feelings came to drown in alcohol. This area was a pit of despair, with fetid smells, unclean bodies, and squalor everywhere. The names of the places evaded him, but he knew it was one of the bad ones. Beside him sat Natty, who was peculiarly hospitable today, especially for most of what he knew of her. The Squad Two Shinigami was nursing her fifth saké, while he had resorted to water. Saké, beer, and wines were all terrible drinks, and for the most part around here, all one could get was saké, which was annoying. If he could, a vodka or whiskey would be nice, but he had no such luck trying to get any.

It wasn't even that he was looking to go out today either. Natty had turned up at his door, a little somber, but thankfully non-violent, and requested that he go with her for a drink, which was an unusual event.

He was dressed in his usual, taped shorts and bedouin coat with purple design, and unkempt hair and beard. His tattooes on his shoulders and chest visible because he hadn't closed the jacket, nor had the jacket any sleeves. His taught, thin frame was heavily evident, but the feel of his spiritual pressure told one that his appearance didn't lend truth to his actual strength. Natty however, was adorned in her typical garb, the outfit of a Soul Reaper, but with the back and sleeves missing. Her long blond hair was gathered into a long braided ponytail at the back, which was in turn dyed black and wrapped around her throat like a choker. Both had their Zanpakto tucked into their obi; his was shorter, straight and plain; hers was kept in a crimson saya, and had fletchings at the pommel, along with a very long blade, measuring an leg's length on her.

They had been there an hour or so, maybe longer, when another Soul Reaper entered the place and sat down the bar away from them. She too was dejected. Everyone in that bar, even the drunks, seemed depressed. He was the only one who managed a grim smile, him and the bartender, whose job was to help ease the pain and coin from those here.

The smell of liquor and the oppressiveness of despair lingered in the air even after Shakaku felt the effects of the saké kicking in. She could hold her liquor quite well but it wasn't long till she felt the slight buzz start to surface. Downing the rest of her drink, she denied another even though the rain cloud still hung over her head. When she took a glance around, she noticed two other Shinigami, one of them an academy student, on the other side of the bar. "What a depressing place, huh?" She spoke up loud enough for the two of her comrades to head. "You two seem to be handling it a lot better then some of the people here." She motioned behind her at the tables where there was one lone man who was next to passed out from drinking so much.

Shakaku stood and moved a couple seats over to be closer to the two Shinigami but leaving an empty seat between them. She was thankful for their company, even if they seemed just about as beat up about the place as her. It was better than being alone. "I'm Shakaku, squad 1 unseated." She smiled and held out her hand for the both of them to shake. "I must say I'm thankful you two are here. It gets a little overpowering but I suppose you have to get used to it eventually if you plan on patrolling out here in districts past fifty. This is the farthest district I've been from the Seireitei and by far the worst." Waving the bartender over, she ordered some green tea to wash down the stickiness in her mouth from the saké. When her cup came she sipped it and gave a grateful smile to the Shinigami. "I hope I wasn't interrupting anything."

"Hmm...?" He looked up. "Oh, well, I'm just here for the company." He motioned to Natty, who seemed to be ignoring the newcomer and searching for her soul in the bottom of her saké.

Instead of introducing herself, she picked up the drink, downed it and wordlessly ordered another. It appeared that her hospitality extended to him alone. The drink came and she pounded it back, and demanded another, all in the span of two minutes. She quickly went from five saké to having her eighth sitting in front of her.

"I'm Ankou, of the Academy, and this is-" He was halted as Natty held her hand up.

"-Natsuchiko Korotaka of Second Division...unseated. Or it will be former unseated of Second Division." She interrupted, her words a little slurred. Then she dropped her arm and went back to staring at her drink.

"I'm not really sure what's wrong with her. She's usually more hostile than this..." He trailed off. "What brings you to Sasib...Bassa.....Batura....Sibot......this place?"

Shakaku watched Natsuchiko with slight interest as she downed her drinks with such ferocity. She had trouble getting through one cup, let alone eight one after the other. "Oh just patrolling, making sure no one is getting into any fights, though it's impossible for one Shinigami to stop all the skirmishes that happen around here. I don't even see the point; these people don't even respect Shinigami. It's like they see us as if we're in rags like they are. Though I don't really blame them for being so hateful... I mean just look at the way they live while we live in luxury." She nursed on the green tea with a thoughtful look on her face. "But orders are orders. Nothing I can do about that."

Shakaku flashed back to her first time making a trip through Rukongai. It was in district 12 which was a peaceful, lawful place. No one was hungry, no one was barefoot, no one was struggling to get by. She was happy to know that the souls she had sent from the world of the living were coming to a nice place. But here... this was a different story. This is definitely not the welcome party you would want when you have finally have the courage to pass on. All those souls that were so reluctant, so scared to go must have been pretty pissed when they realized that this was that special, wonderful place all those Shinigami promise before preforming a Konsō.

"What about you? I see you're with miss drunkard over here," Shakaku whispered the last part, not wanting to stir up a fight with a delirious Shinigami. "But you're still an Academy student. What brings you out to this hell hole?" She gulped down the rest of her tea and gave it to the bartender for a refill. "And how is the Academy nowadays? I haven't been back since I graduated."

He moved one seat over, to which Natty didn't seem to mind, or perhaps care about, so that he was with Shakaku.

"Try to not piss her off." He hissed low. "She's got a temper to match those of Eleventh Squad, and the focus to make it lethal."

He paused and checked on Natty.

"She came by my place earlier in the day, and I've been with her since. She's been....awfully strange. As for academics, they've been the same for me since sometime shortly after I entered. I don't attend all of my classes, and I'm not the most perfect student. I don't understand my sword, my grades for all of those practical skills, like zanjutsu and such are low. I've been there perhaps longer than some teachers, definitely most students, and I still haven't graduated."

"How about you? What can you, a pretty young woman, tell me about yourself?"

"Well don't give up. It's not always easy for some people. I've known a couple students I were in school with that are still there. Some people advance through very quickly. Just remember, the Gotei 13 always have their eyes on the Academy. Even if you aren't very good, they may still be very interested in you." Shakaku smiled at his sweet compliment and sipped her freshly filled glass of green tea, pondering what information was interesting enough to tell the young student. "Well I have yet to find out the name of my zanpakuto, as well. He sure is taking his time with it." She glared down at the sheathed sword tucked neatly in her obi and continued. "I'm not very good at kido but I understand sword fighting very well and I can think fast in battle. Squad 1 has graced me with a respectful title that many people look up to but still... a lot of people look down on me. It doesn't matter much because I know I'll surpass them. Besides, you're looking at the next captain of Squad 1 here!" She grinned at Ankou, confidence running thickly in her words.

Shakaku recalled when she was just an academy student, unsure of anything after she graduated. She didn't know what she was getting herself into or the intensity the training would be. Hell, she couldn't even figure out which squad she wanted to join when she was in the Academy. It was pure instinct that she chose the first squad, not that she was complaining. She loved Squad 1 with all her heart and she knew it was the right decision from the moment she stepped up in from of her squad to introduce herself. Their welcome, so warm and comforting was all the assurance she needed. "Do you have an idea on the squad you would like to join? When I was in the Academy, I had absolutely no clue." She chuckled. "I'm still trying to contemplate if it was just me being indecisive or if other people are having the same trouble as well. It seemed like my class was full of hot heads that were so sure of the squad they wanted from the beginning without really thinking about how it really fit with their personality and fighting style." Shakaku rolled her eyes at the thought and awaited Ankou's response.

He tried hard not to supress a small, private smile at the words Shakaku had said. She was also having trouble with her Zanpakto. Sort of behind him now, Natty had finished off another six glasses of saké, and had hung her head lower, leaning it on glass number fifteen.

"I'm not sure of the squad I'll join. I've thought about it, and all I can really tell you is which squads I wouldn't be in."

All this talking had begun to make him thirsty, as his throat had cracked a little at his last two words. He finally acknowledged his glass of water and took a quick deep gulp of it.

"I'm not on any good terms with Eleventh, and to be honest, I'm a terrible fighter. I've no experience, nor skills to lend towards the Fourth, and as good a fit as I've been told for Twelfth, I've recieved a warning from one of its members to cease and desist my actions with some...personal experiments, I've also probably not gotten on anyone's good side either."

"Hhrrmmmm............................" Natty groaned behind him, a sound of someone who had perhaps drank too much and now couldn't do a coherent thing.

He looked behind himself to see that the once-proud and hostile Natsuchiko's head now had a ring on its forehead from where her glass had been pressed, and she had her face laid on the bar. The glass of saké had spilled, and pooled around her head. Her eyes were glazed over, and if he could tell the difference between the sweat and the saké, he might have been able to notice the tears in her eyes.

The 15 empty cups of saké littered the table in front of Ankou's drunken companion. How could anyone drink so much? I could never get down that many without throwing it all up. Shakaku stared at the teary eyed mess of a Shinigami sitting only a couple seats away from her with curiosity. Waving over the bartender, she ordered a hot green tea for the drunk mess. "We better get her sobered up," Shakaku told Ankou. "We wouldn't want you two going back and having the eleventh squad captain of all the captains finding out she's been drinking like a man here on a mission." She chuckled and pushed the cup of hot tea towards her. Just look at her. That's the reason why I rarely ever drink, she shook her head slightly. This kid doesn't seem like a troublemaker. Why would he be hanging out with someone like her? He did mention she was hostile and he just doesn't seem like the person to put up with that to me, she wondered thoughtfully while taking another sip of her tea.

All of a sudden a loud crash sounded behind Shakaku as a man burst through the doors of the restaurant and confronted the lone man sitting behind them. "There! I found you!" The man, obviously drunk himself tripped and knocked over tables to get to the other man. "What the hell are you doing here, brother? What do you want?" The one sitting down confronted the man that just barged in like a bull in a china shop. "You stole all my money! I knew you couldn't be trusted. Now we're rolling in debt and it's all because of you, you stealing little scumbag!" Before Shakaku knew it, the man sitting stood and threw a vicious punch at his brother. All hell broke loose after that. Screaming, cursing, clattering and banging filled the restaurant with noise and commotion. The bartender yelled for the men to stop but they couldn't hear anything over the anger the roared in their ears. The waitress screamed at the sight of blood as it spattered to the ground from a fierce blow to the head from one of the guys to the other. "What the hell...?" Shakaku mumbled and drew her sword. "Ankou, you want to prove yourself? Help me break up this fight." She looked over her shoulder towards the student she had just met a little while ago and his drunken friend.

"She's actually Second Division." He corrected. "I just said she had a temper to match those of Eleventh Division. And I think it'd be better if we let her stay drunk, she seems pretty content to me."

Then a fight broke out behind them. One man accusing another of something, not that he really understood everything said. It quickly turned bloody, and Shakaku told him to help her out. He was about to tell her that he wasn't very good in a fight, when he changed his mind, shrugged, and pulled one bloody man from another with Shakaku's help. He took an elbow to the gut, and a head to the nose, but otherwise held his ward and kept his half of the brothers apart.

Natsuchiko didn't remain unaware to the fight, and opted to join in too. She approached the man he had captive and slung a fist towards him, and instead clocked him in the head. She staggered forwards before falling on the both of them, a bloody brother and a concussed Gravelle. Then she began to cry, followed by the return of her saké in an acidic mess all over the three of them.

"I'm unworthy of the privelege to be a Shinigami." She sobbed, still atop the two men.

If he was uncomfortable with her mood before, he was thoroughly confused and dismayed with her now.

"I couldn't......I couldn't save them......." Natty continued to sob.

Now he felt somewhat enlightened, and also still largely confounded. As best he knew, Natty didn't care for anyone but herself and Gina, so why was she so weepy? He squirmed uselessly underneath the two, desperate to free himself of them and the mess they had made.

"Shahaku, could you please help me out from here?" He querried.

Shakaku pulled the other man away and ordered him to stand back because she wasn't finished finding out what the purpose, if there was one, in this fight. Turning at Ankou's words she tilted her head sideways, confused and disturbed by the scene. Natty, Ankou and the fighting man were all in a pile of blood, sweat, tears, and vomit. "Uhh sure..." She replied reluctantly. The smell alone was horrid enough to make the man scramble out of the pile and back off. Offering her shoulders, she hoisted both Ankou and his friend off the slick ground and outside to air them out. "We need to find a bathhouse or something," Shakaku groaned when she noticed the blood and vomit soaked her kimono. "You guys chill out here for just a bit."

The inside of the restaurant was a mess. Tables were turned, cups and plated were thrown to the ground, not to mention the giant, rank puddle of bodily fluids that stained the very heart of the bar. Turning to the two men Shakaku glared at them with a ferocity that would make a captain of the Gotei 13 shudder. "I don't care what you two were fighting about but it ends now. You two are gonna clean up this place till it's sparkling clean or else I'll have to chop you apart limb by limb! You got that?" The second after she popped her sword out of it's scabbard, the two men hastily got to work, mops and pails of water in hand and began cleaning the disaster zone of a bar. "I'm sorry for the trouble they caused. Here," Shakaku apologized to the owner and handed him a bill that was definitely worth all the troubles.

Shakaku walked out to find both her companions still there, Natty looking slightly green with the haunting suspicion she was going to vomit again and Ankou looking a little dizzy from the slug to the head. She sighed. "Come on, you too. Let's get cleaned up before we head back to the Seireitei. I'm not walking in there dead looking like this." After a few minutes of asking around, she finally found the nearest bath house was just a couple blocks away. She hoisted the two up and slowly began their trek towards cleanliness.

Shakaku led the two of them to a bath house, and once inside, offered to help clean them up.

"It's okay, I can take it from here. I used to wash with my wife, so this won't be....." His words cut off as the painful reminder sank in. His less-than-enthused look turned to something a little more sad. Before Shakaku could respond, he continued. "I'll be fine with her. You just go and find us some clean clothes please. If you go to the border of the Seireitei and the Rukongai, by the west entrance, you should find my home. Let yourself in, the door's never locked, you'll find in the top drawer of a dresser on the wall that there's sets of spare clothes already organized. there."

He paused to reflect.

"If you go directly south of there, passing twelve streets, make a right heading further westward until you find the fifth house. That's Korotaka, where Natty here's family lives. Just ask for Gina and tell her you need some spare clothes for her sister. I think that should do it."

He waited for Shakaku to leave before he helped Natty undress. But in her state, that meant more that he was doing all the work while she simply lolled about. Some men could have been nervous or excited about undressing a woman, but he found it more a task or chore than something to be thrilled or embarassed about. After finally getting her naked, he undressed himself as well, then picked her up, finding himself surprised at her light weight, and carried her over to a bath.

He left their weapons, and their clothes in a wretched pile in a corner of the change rooms. His task was to clean her up first, and then do something about their clothes.

Shakaku hesitated for a split instant, agitated by the mere fact that she was taking orders from a student but she was in no position to retort. Both looked so miserable, drenched in blood, sweat, tears and vomit. Not to mention the acrid smell of all those elements mixing together into one fucked up science experiment. She would be back just in time for them to get washed up and fresh. "Alright. I'll be back in a jiff. This would be a lot quicker if I had flash step but I'll make sure to be back in time for you two to get out." Shakaku turned and began to run back towards the Seireitei. "I don't smell that bad anyways." She mumbled, shaking off her hidden aggravation. "The poor things look like they've been drug through the sewer. It's the least I can do."

It didn't take very much time for Shakaku to pass through Rukongai, enter the Seireitei, access Ankou and Natty's rooms and to follow the directions given to her. Her keen sense of memory lead her to her fellow Shinigami's stash of clothes quickly and efficiently. She even had enough time to change her own foul clothes in the process. Once she determined that none of the bodily fluids made their way onto her skin, the tucked the garments into a bag, slung it over her shoulder and began her trek to the bathhouse. Heading back was a bit more of a problem then she expected since many of her squad members stopped to chat (since they obviously couldn't see that she was in a hurry) and there were more problems occurring throughout Rukongai that she just couldn't turn a blind eye to. That was her original mission wasn't it? By the time she finally made it back, she was irritated from the delay and obviously late. She walked into the bathhouse and squinted her eyes to see through the steam. Once she established they weren't still bathing, she checked the dressing room and found them both. "Here," She handed both the Shinigami their garments. "Sorry I'm late. There was a lot of unanticipated trouble I ran into," Shakaku grunted and waited by the door for Ankou and Natty.

"Thank you Shakaku." He said, eagerly taking their clothes from her. "I happen to have some good news and some bad news for you as well. The good news is, Natty sobered up from the bath. The bad news is, she's sobered up."

He was about to do something else when a sheathed zanpakto clipped him on the side of the head and sent him painfully to the ground.

"That's for bathing with me you little perv." Natsu said haughtily. She bent down and picked up the clothes and dumped them on the ground to find hers among them.

"One or two drinks. That's all I had." She grumbled. "And I wake up to find myself naked in a bath with you washing me." He started to get up when she hit him with her sheathed weapon again. "I didn't say you could get up. Lay there like the slimy scum you are."

She looked over at Shakaku, gave her a quick looking over, and brought her weapon to rest on her shoulders, still standing there naked.

"And what exactly do you want? Are you hoping for a tip or something? Then here's a tip, get lost. I don't need anyone to help me. I could have left here as I was and gotten my own clothes." She took in a sharp breath to continue.

If he could have seen, he probably would have thought that Shakaku was getting more irate by the second. He was losing his temper too, since he couldn't handle this spontaneous mood-change. He rolled over onto his back, raised his arms and grabbed her inner thighs and pulled her down to the ground hard, making her back and elbows crash and echo in the change room. Then he moved quickly until he had her pinned down beneath him.

"I've dealt with a lot of your shit. I've let you stab me, shoot me, use me as hado practice, and even take your violent bullshit for years now. But I'm a bit at my breaking point today seeing as everything that's happened to me at this point is actually your fault." He paused for an intake of breath as well. "I'm sure this young woman here doesn't need to deal with your shit either. I think you should calm the hell down and-" He paused at the odd sensation. "-are you holding my balls?"

"Just wondered when you grew a pair." Natsu joked back.

That kind of threw him off. Now he was confused and vulnerable. He reached down and detached the hand that held him and got off of the naked woman and moved away to get his own clothes. For the most part, he and Natsu dressed in silence, there being a great awkwardness between them. He hoped that Shakaku would be able to break the uncomfortable silence, but wasn't sure how.

The mayhem before Shakaku would have been comical if it wasn't for her foul mood. "I liked her better when she was drunk," Shakaku grumbled under her breath. It took all her might not to reach out and slug the now sobered up Natty for her rude comments. Choking down a retort she waited stiffly for her to back down. In her peripheral vision, she noticed Ankou reaching out and pulling Natty to her knees, all the while arguing, fighting, and, most of all, naked. The sight in itself brought down her defenses and made her chuckle for it was few times in a lifetime you got to see such a sight as this. Finally, the fighting had ceased due to a very unexpected act that left Shakaku swallowing her laughter. "You two got to have some drinks, witness a fight, take a bath, and to top it all off, fight nude all in one day. Please don't tell me that every day resembles this one with you two," Shakaku chuckled and motioned for the Shinigami to follow her out of the dressing room.

Shakaku paid the lady up front for the costs and walked out of the steamy, thick air into more steamy, thick and not as clean smelling air. "Don't worry about paying me back," She glanced at Ankou for she had a feeling that he was going to say something about it and Natty not say anything at all. "So what do you plan on doing now? It's nearly sunset and I should be heading back to report to my captain. He's pretty strict with deadlines. You can accompany me back if you would like or we could part now. Whichever you prefer." As she spoke, she pulled a pen and paper from inside her kimono and began jotting down notes of the days events for her report, only including the bar fight details and not the drinking or the bathhouse incident. It wasn't irresponsible for her to do what she did and she wasn't guilty for it but it didn't seem necessary to include the gruesome details. Putting her notes back inside the pocket, she awaited Ankou's response.

"No, thankfully, every day is not like this." He grumbled. "I'd have died again long ago if it was."

"Who are you" Natsu, now dressed and properly attired, asked Shakaku.

"She's Sha....Shaha....." He paused and mouthed the name a few more times before getting it. "She's Shakaku of first division."

They followed Shakaku out of the bathhouse and back into Sabitsura, where she posed them a question. Would they follow her, or go their own way?

"I'll head home." Natsu said, carrying her soiled clothes in a bag. "Since I don't need your company anymore." With that, Natsu flash stepped away from them, leaving them by themselves on the street.

"I can't not thank you enough." He sighed. "In the very least, maybe you could stop by my place after your reporting back to your captain. I might not be able to pay you, but I can thank you in other ways. I'm a very flexible man, capable of lots of things."

After the words left his mouth, there was another silence. Another awkward silence as he processed the information.

"I...I don't mean that in a...a dirty way or anything." He rushed. "I was...Supper for...make you. To thank.....Help for food."

He began to get flustered, his words tying up in his mouth.

Shakaku raised an eyebrow at Ankou's unusual comment and began to chuckle when all his words turned to mush in his mouth. "You are quite a character, Ankou!" She laughed heartily. Pulling the notepad and pen out from her pocket she scribbled on a blank sheet, tore it out and handed it to him. "That's my house number. It's not that difficult navigating the barracks but if you need help finding the place, everyone is always polite so just ask." She returned the materials back to the pocket and looked over her shoulder at the setting sun. It must have been around seven or eight in the evening since a summer sunset was usually around that time. "And no need to thank me at all! Just doing my job. Trust me, spending the day with you sure was a hell of a lot more fun then doing paperwork all day long." She smiled appreciatively at the student.

Shakaku then gave a friendly hug to Ankou. "Please, feel free to stop by anytime! I'll hit you up on that food offer. My cooking skills are horrendous!" She stuck out her tongue. "If you want, I'll help you train. No friend of mine is weak and, darling, you are no exception. Have a safe trip home. Farewell!" With a wave, she turned and walked back to her humble home at the squad one barracks.

When Shakaku had gone to return to her squad, he was left to return to his home in the Rukongai. He made some detours, opting to avoid certain areas and elements where he was either uncomfortable, or otherwise not on good terms with people in the area. Eventually he made it home and sat at his table, trying to think of how exactly to prepare a meal for the woman. He had forgotten to ask what her favourite tastes were, and as such, wasn't sure of what to make. He had sweet foods, spicy foods, sour foods and hot foods, as well as bitter foods. He broke out paper and pencil and began to calculate what would need to be done for the cooking.

"...cook those on the back burner, and keep those on the front, thats.....put the third shelf in.......adjust the timing for multiple courses........increase the heat to adjust for additional contents.......yes........prep the wagon in the meantime. Yes. It should work."

A plan of action settled upon, he set to work, opening the cupboards and pulling out four large pots, two pans, two kettles, casserol dishes, and several mixing bowls and tupperware buckets large enough to hold easily a medium-sized animal in a bundled position. He calculated his times and the orders in which to cook, and began his multi-course cooking.

He diced chicken breasts, battered some of it and left the rest as it was. He chopped carrots, scrambled eggs, mixed batters, prepared sauces, and even made icing. He fried chicken in a pot, boiled rice and vegetables, baked seafood casserol and cake. Off to the side, he boiled water for cocoa and tea. More food he cooked while the kitchen became a mess, and for each thing he finished, the time he had less. When finally he had finished, and all was packed and prepared, he sat down and sipped cocoa, hoping he was ready. He checked the clock too, noting he had spent 3 hours cooking several different courses.

He looked to the wagon, and sighed, set down his cup and went to the counter and began to wash dishes. Supper would be late anyways, and he couldn't just leave the mess here to fester. He'd be another long while, but perhaps Shakaku wouldn't mind a late supper over nothing.

Two hours later...

Finally, with some assistance, he and his wagon laid upon with food and drink, had made it to the residence of Shakaku, and along the way, he had learned from a handful of people her last name, only because they spoke of her formally. He knocked on the wall beside her door and waited for her to answer. She might have been annoyed with him for the time he took to make the food, but, when she would see the cart, he was sure she'd understand.

He counted off in his head the number of things he had made, and smiled when the door opened.

Once Shakaku reported to the captain, conversed with some of her fellow squad members and took the long way back to her home, she unlocked and stepped through the door frame to a symphony of meows and purrs from her feline friend, Paku. "Why hello there, lil monster!" She scooped the cat into her arms and talked to him in high pitched noises as she made her way into her living space. Her organizational skills have really improved since her time in the Academy because everything was neat and in order. She learned her lesson when the lieutenant gave her a lecture about keeping a clean home when he unexpectedly waltzed in to check up on her after a fatal wound from a hollow attack when she was on a mission in the world of the living. Since that moment on, paranoia kept her on her toes and she made sure to keep her living quarters nice and tidy just in case unexpected guests decided to arrive.

By the time Shakaku finished filling the bowls with food and water and cleaning the litter box for her furry friend, it had already been a couple hours since her encounter in Sabitsura with the young Academy student. She chuckled at the memory and stepped out into her back patio where she had a lovely view of the sunset over the Seireitei. Once she become's a seated officer, she would be relocated to the set of houses where the captain lives and she would have a view of the squad gardens. The past couple of days she heard some gossip that the captain was going to appoint a new seated officer soon and her skin prickled with excitement that it just might be her! After admiring the view from her backyard for a moment or two, Shakaku idled back into her home with a yawn. I'll just take a little nap. I'm exhausted... she thought to herself before she drifted off into a doze, Paku nestled next to her following her lead as they both sunk into dreamland.

A knock on the door startled Shakaku and her cat out of their evening slumber. "What the..." She mumbled and wiped the sleep out of her eyes as she made her way to the door and cracked it open. "Ankou? what are you doing..." She spoke, shock worming its way into her voice. The smell of freshly cooked food wafted into her nose. "Oh wow! You really didn't have to go through all that trouble. I thought you would have been exhausted and would have planned for this another day! Oh, come in come in." Shakaku opened the door wider to allow entry for Ankou and his cart of goods, giving the cat a tap on the butt with her foot to get him out of the way in the process. "I'm sorry I look like a mess. Me and Paku here were just taking a little nap so my hair and clothes are a little frazzled." Shakaku smiled embarrassingly. She helped him with the cart and the hurried to get a couple of pillows for them both to sit on. "Here you go. Did you have trouble finding your way here?" She bustled to get plates and bowls, all the while communicating with Ankou over her shoulder and Paku watching curiously from the corner, keeping his distance from the stranger in his territory.