An Odd Encounter [Open]

Shin ran through the streets carefully, he had just gotten paid for his courier work and was pretty happy. He was on his way to his favorite restaurant in District 3, he usually didn't go there because of the prices but he had a huge craving for their pork buns, which were really good, they had this special sauce that they used that made them really good. His mouth watered in anticipation as he weaved through the people in the streets. He got some odd looks as he ran through the streets, but he ignored them and kept going. His stomach grumbled in hunger and he decided to pick up the pace a little and started to run a bit faster. As he was running along there was a loud crack to the side and he glanced over for a split-second and when he looked back in front of him all he saw was black and then he collided with the person, sending them both sprawling on the ground.

Shin got up and quickly checked to see if his money was still in it's place, smiling when he found it in it's proper place, then looked over at the person he had collided with and realized that it was a shinigami.

The sights and smells of district three were remarkable. The buildings made of fantastic, white marble, the people dressing in beautiful, elegant attire, and the aroma of the cherry blossoms (which were in full bloom) along with the smells of freshly baked breads created an intoxicating perfume that filled the air. Shakaku walked through the heart of the town, admiring all the gorgeous hand crafted knick-knacks, furniture and dresses that the residents were selling in their shops along with a variety of delicious looking foods.

"Excuse me, madame Shinigami! I think this dress would look absolutely fantastic on you! It would make that stunning red hair of yours pop in such an elegant way!" Shakaku turned to see an elderly woman standing outside her shop with a striking white kimono in her hand. "It does look beautiful," She smiled and walked over to examine the attire. "A little out of my price range, unfortunately." The elderly woman looked genuinely disappointed by her response. "How about I take off 20%? You won't regret buying it! It would look so amazing on you, not to mention you would catch the eye of ever man in the Seireitei with a dress like this!" The woman winked at Shakaku and she laughed in return. "Well how could I possibly say no to that?" She handed the woman a handful of coins and thanked her as she took her bag and began walking down the main road once again.

The people here were so polite and gracious than they were in the slum districts she had been spending most of her time in on missions. So many of the residents smiled and waved at her as she walked by that Shakaku couldn't help smiling and waving right back. Her arms were beginning to feel a little numb from holding the bags so she drifted toward the edge of the road, set her bags down and opened up her wallet. Just like that, the money that she came with was cut in half and her arms were full with bags of trinkets, clothes, jewelry, food and many other miscellaneous items. This is why I can't come here! They're all so nice I just can't help but buy stuff from these people, She sighed and tucked her wallet back into her kimono.

Suddenly, Shakaku yelped as she felt something or someone crash into her backside, sending her forward and landing with a dull thud on the ground in front of her. "What the hell..." she groaned and rubbed her elbow which slammed hard into the ground to catch her fall. Jumping to her feet, she spun around and growled, "Hey! What's the big idea! You're not blind are you? Watch where you're-" She stopped when she saw that it was apparently a young boy that knocked into her for he was on his butt as well. "Hey, kid. Are you ok?" She bent over (in the process exposing a little cleavage) and examined the child that seemed still a little dazed from running headfirst into her ass.

Shin stared in horror as the Shinigami got up and spun around at him, as she shouted angrily at him, He was terrified and started to shake a little. Shinigami were the law keepers, they could get away with anything, she could kill him and noone would care. He blinked in confusion as the voice suddenly changed to a much nicer tone as she asked if he was okay. He didn't know what was going on anymore and was really confused, she was really close now and he could see down her shirt a little bit. He turned his head to the side and said, "I uhm, m s-s-sorry." He scooted away from her a bit and glanced around as the people stopped and stared at the event unfolding before them, not noticing the few drops of blood on the ground, or the fact that his left arm was bleeding from a cut he has sustained when he crashed into the ground. He looked back at her face and stuttered, "I-I I didn't mean to... I, uhm." He stared at her with worry apparent in his face a slight tremble in his lip as he knew he wouldn't be able to get away with the small crowd that was around them looking now, he was sure he was going to get beaten as a suspected theif.
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The boy truly looked frightened of Shakaku so much that she could almost here his bones rattle from his trembling. His eyes seemed to be trained to something. When she follows his gaze, her eyes settled on the ever so slight trickle of blood that oozed from the scrape on her elbow. "Hey don't worry about it! I've been through a lot worse than this, trust me." She chuckled and grabbed the child's hand, helping him to his feet. "You should really watch where you're going, though. You really sent me flying!" The trembling of the boy's bottom lip and the worry in his eyes convinced her that she was going to have to work a little harder to make sure he wasn't completely mortified by the experience.

Shakaku stood up straight and waved her hand to the crowd of people that began to gather. "Carry on! Nothing to see, everything is alright," A young lady approached her and spoke in a timid voice. "That scratch. Let me bandage it for you, Miss Shinigami." As the woman began to clean the scrape from debris, she then focused her attention back on the boy who still seemed to be paralyzed. "How about you? Are you okay? No major trauma, I hope. What luck you have that out of anyone you could have run into it just so happened to be a Shinigami!" She laughed heartily but soon realized her joke didn't have an effect on him, if not scared him even more. Once the woman finished, she thanked her and bowed courteously to send her on her way. Shakaku looked back at the child. "It's quite alright, accidents happen. What's you're name, little one? And why exactly were you running?" She asked, curiosity getting the better of her. "Come on, we're in the middle of the road. Why don't we go pick up something to eat so we can talk and get away from this crowd?" She gathered her bags loaded down with items and waited to see if the young boy would join her in a mid morning meal.

Shin relaxed a little bit as she mentioned that the scrape on her arm was fine and it wasn't a problem and other things. It was really worrying for him still, he had hurt a shinigami, the keepers of the law, he was pretty sure it was illegal. She suddenly reached out and grabbed his hand and pulled him to his feet, Shin panicked and pulled away from her and she let go. She told the crowd to go away, and some lady came over and started to clean and bandage the cut, making some comment that Shin didn't really understand.

The shinigami looked at shin and said that everything was alright and asked his name and why he was running. Then she offered to get some food for him, his stomach growled. She seemed nice enough now, she hadn't tried to do anything to him yet and seemed nice enough, and she was offering him food. She picked up her things and glanced back at him, he stared at her for a second biting his bottom lip then jogged over next to her. He glanced up at her and she smiled at him and he looked away towards the ground and said, "Shin, my name is Shin." After a short pause of silence as he thought about whether or not he should mention the fact that he was going to buy food to see if he could make her pay for him too, but decided in the end that it would probably not be good to lie to a shinigami, especially one that had just forgiven him. "I was hungry... I was going to buy some pork buns." He glanced at the shinigami to see her response.

"So you knocked me to the ground for a couple of pork buns? You must be starving." Shakaku smiled and began walking with Shin by her side. "I'm Shakaku, Shinigami of 1st squad. Just in case you haven't heard of me already," she winked. "Of course you wouldn't have I'm not quite a seated officer yet but I'm close." As they walked, many more pedestrians stopped and smiled as they passed by and Shakaku offered her smiles and nods right back at them. "So what brings you to this lovely town? Are you from around here? Don't you have any family that can take you to get pork buns?" She asked, her questions flooding out of her mouth quicker than she intended them to be. "Excuse me," she chuckled. "My inquisitive mind is getting the better of me again." They continued to walk, weaving in and out of the crowds to a certain place that Shin seemed to know where he was heading to. She hoped so since she had no clue as to where they were going herself. "I hope you know where you're going to get these pork buns that you claim to be so amazing. By the way, it's on me you don't have to pay a penny." Shakaku smiled down at Shin.

Shin was happier and less worried now that she was smiling and being nice to him, his initial fear at her reaction was completely gone now. She seemed surprised when he told her that he was just going for some pork buns. She introduced her as Shakaku, a shinigami from the first squad, whatever that meant. Then she started in with a barrage of questions, Shin paused and replayed the questions in his head one at a time so he could think about them. Shin answered her barrage saying, "I died, or so i was told. ummm I live around District 5. And no I don't have any family, I support myself.... I work as a courier cuz' I'm fast."

She mentioned that she was going to pay for the pork buns, he responded with a little smile and said, "Lets hurry up then." He put a big grin on his face and sped up making her sure she could keep up with him, paying great attention not to hit anything else.

Shakaku mulled over his response. He lived alone without a family? What a lonely life that seemed to be. She herself grew up in district 5 as well and didn't have a family but she was older than he was and more sure of herself. He, just being a mere kid, must have a strong heart to conquer the world on his own. Though, he had it better off than most kids in the Soul Society, especially from those in the higher numbered districts. District 5 was a pleasant home. Sure, living alone would be difficult but the people there were friendly and hospitable, always willing to lend a helping hand.

Eventually, Shakaku and Shin arrived at the place of destination; a small shop that had a wonderful aroma pouring out from behind the door. When they walked in, they were greeted by a waitress who served them both up a cup of green tea and took their orders. She ordered the pork buns for Shin and some dangos for herself. Silence then drifted between them for a moment while she sipped her tea and watched the chefs cook up their food. "So! Shin." Shakaku turned and examined the boy. "What are your hobbies? What do you like to do? Do you plan on becoming a Shinigami anytime?" I sense spiritual pressure in him. It's vague but with some training he should be able to master and increase it's level, Shakaku thought when she caught a hint of a spiritual pressure different from anyone's she recognized, quickly noting that it came from the boy beside her. If he doesn't learn to control it soon, he's going to attract trouble.

When the food came, Shakaku munched on a Goma dango, savoring the sweet and salty flavor in her mouth. "Mmm these are fantastic! Here have a bite," She pulled one of the dumplings of the skewer and placed it on Shin's plate. She then continued to eat, awaiting Shin's response.

Shin weaved through the people in the streets making sure Shakaku could keep up, all the way to district 3, where he could smell the restaurant that had his favorite food, Pork buns. He waved shakaku over and walked in with her, a waitress waved them over to some seats and brought them some tea, shin sipped a little while shakaku ordered, his mouth watering uncontrollably as he waited.

Shin was waiting patiently for the food to arrive when Shakaku suddenly started talking to him, he turned and listened, She wanted to know what he enjoyed apparently, shin thought about it for a bit, he didnt do much besides play, train to run and run as a courier, "I like to run..." Then she asked him a question that truly confused him, if he planned on becoming a shinigami, why would he want to enforce the law and fight people? He sat there with a confused expression on his face as he considered her question.

Although before he could come up with a response the waitress came over and set down their food, Shin completely forgot about the question and quickly grabbed one of his pork buns, taking a bit bite out of it and chewing it happily, unconsciously making little nom-nom noises. Shakaku distracted him by putting a dango on his plate and saying he should try it. He finished his 3rd bit and popped the Dango into his mouth, it was good, but he still liked the pork bun better. He paused for a moment, feeling a little guilty about having some of her food but not giving her anything. He tore one of the pork buns in half and set one half on her plate, then went back to nomming on his pork buns happily.

A few bites later he excused himself to use the restroom, and after having done his business and coming back out he noticed the girl was gone. Had she stiffed him the bill? He walked over to the table, and the waitress came over and explained that the shinigami had gotten a call that she was needed immediately and had left, but she had also paid for the meal. Shin was grateful for that at least, so he ate his meal reviewing the day's events before heading back home.