Wandering Late at Night

Neko held back a yawn as she ran across the dark street, the only light coming from dim or flickering street lamps spaced evenly down the road. Her gigai was long gone by now, left hanging in a tree where she would find it later. Beneath her vibrant deep purple eyes shadows lay fresh, dark and unwanted. After meeting Hina, another arrancar, she had wandered around until she'd returned to Karakura, leaving her nearly ready to fall asleep if she stood still too long. Her chin length, boyish looking black hair was a bit limp, not as healthy as it usually looked. Her white cat ears, her mask remnant, stood out in the dark. Her shirt was a bit longer then needed, nearly hiding the too short white shorts and making it appear for her to only wear the black shirt.
Suddenly, she tripped over the sidewalk. She'd missed it when she was beginning to doze off as she walked, falling towards the concrete. She forced her arms out in front of her, protecting her face but hissing angrily as she felt the skin along her arms and the skin on her hands rip. She jumped up angrily, holding her bleeding arms to her torso, "Son of a bitch! That hurt so damn bad! Agh! I fucking hate the damn dark." Which was a lie. Neko, as a matter of fact, loved the dark and the night. She also enjoyed it when it rained... which it did. Sprinkles began to fall, soon turning into large raindrops that plopped down onto the tiny arrancar.

Voruta was running up the street frantically, moving towards some hollow reiatsu he had felt. It was pretty faint, but he thought it just must have been a strong arrancar trying to hide his presence. Voruta cut the corner quickly, stomping into a puddle and soaking his hakama immediately. Man... I just can't get a break today! He had been sent to Karakura Town for a week to watch over the town. He really didn't know why his presence was needed, there were several shinigami already here that were more than capable, but he wasn't one to question orders. As he ran down the street, he saw a girl on the ground, her arms scratched up. He ran towards her, but then slowly realized that the girl probably couldn't see him. He decided that it couldn't hurt to see if she was spiritually aware though, if she wasn't then he'd just feel like some crazy that talks to himself. As he got closer, he saw the cat ears on her head and realized that she was playing dress up for some reason.

As he walked over, he heard her cussing and laughed a little bit. It seemed like she was his kind of girl, but he couldn't help but wonder what the hell she was doing out this late. "Hey, are you alright?" he said, looking down at her. Just then, the rain started up again and he smiled a bit widely. He had always loved the rain.

Neko jumped as she heard the voice. Had she even heard his approaching footsteps? Or were there any footsteps at all? Too confusing for Neko, so she turned, dropping down her usual angry, fearful barrier. The shadows under her eyes seemed darker now that she was relaxed and being quiet. She took in his appearance, her eyes widening slowly as she searched for his reiatsu. Had to have at least some reiatsu to see her. And he did... Shini-fucking-gami. "Who the hell are you?" She asked, mentally slapping herself as her barrier returned.

Voruta's eyes widened slowly as he realized the mistake he had made. This girl was the hollow reiatsu he had felt, it was strange that he hadn't realized it before now. He figured that with the sight of a cute girl in trouble, he let his guard down a bit. His eyes gravitated slightly upwards to the cat ears on top of her head as he realized that they looked quite like a hollow's mask. ... shit. he thought to himself, not knowing what the hell he had just gotten himself into. He sighed as he realized that the only way out of this would be with a fight. Nevertheless, he charged through her aggression and answered her.

"I'm Byuuto Voruta. 5th Division, 4th Seat." he thought to himself and chuckled a bit mentally, deciding that it would be best not to pull any punches. "And what's the name of the ingrate before me?"

As he spat out his insult, he grasped his zanpakuto in order to be ready for an attack. A cocky smile rested on his lips as he looked her in the eyes, challenging her to make a move.

Neko scoffed, glaring at the Shinigami, "Neko Yasu. And I'm not-" She cut off as she watched his hand move to his hand. Immediately, she leapt back and, again, fell over. She whimpered as she hit her cut up arms, curling her legs up to her and completely forgetting about her own zanpakuto, sitting on her hip. "Please! Don't hurt me, I didn't do anything."She stayed there, curled up, waiting for his reaction.

What the hell?!

In the same second that he had laid his hand on his zanpakuto, the arrancar had fallen over herself in a panic. This had to be the most insane thing that he had ever seen, arrancar were supposed to be evil, right? He looked her up and down slowly, thinking that it must be a trap, but... no, it couldn't be. The girl had genuine fear in her eyes, her whimpering immediately made him feel sorry for using his tough guy act.

"Calm down." he said, removing his right hand from his zanpakuto and reaching out to help her up. "Relax, I'm not gonna attack you if you don't attack me."

He was still a bit wary, so his left hand was over his stomach, ready to reach just a few inches to unsheathe his sword if necessary. In the back of his mind, a moral quandary set in as he realized that he was sent here to kill hollow and arrancar, but he couldn't hurt someone that seemed so helpless. What was the point, she didn't seem like much harm.

Neko didn't move for the longest time, quivering fearfully, until she finally felt safe enough to take his hand. As he helped her up, she felt the strain in her arms, but ignored it. She could also feel a scrape on her new that she hadn't noticed before. Once she was up, she took her hand away, hugging herself for comfort.
She didn't allow her eyes to leave him once, "If I wanted to attack you, then I'd do it. Only as a suicide mission though. Trust me, I'm the weakest fucking arrancar you'll ever meet." She pulled her shoulders in, squeezing herself in tight, "And I'm not like the other arrancar anyways... I don't like to fight and I'm a huge coward. I'm always getting death threats from you damn shinigami. I can't get a break."

Voruta laughed a bit, surprised at the girl's rampant string of curse words. It was strange to be before a being that had been constantly drilled into his head as "evil". Voruta noticed that her hand left his immediately once she was off of the ground. It was understandable that she was wary of him, he still wasn't all that certain that this wasn't a trap. But, as an act of good faith he decided to let his arms hang innocently by his sides. He looked at her and realized that there was still fear in her eyes, so he decided that he'd respond.
"I figure it must not be any easier in Hueco Mundo, huh?" he said, as he actually found himself sympathizing with her situation. It had to be horrible being a hollow that just wanted to live and let live instead of being a bloodthirsty monster. He sighed as he spoke his next words. "Well... I could protect you."

He was shocked at himself for speaking these words, but then he remembered something. He became a shinigami to protect the weak and well... here was someone weak that needed protection. Fuck Central 46's rules, it was his duty to protect those in need, period.

"So... where are you headed?" he said, smiling.

"Hueco Mundo," Neko scoffed, losing the wall a moment. "Never stepped foot in that bloody place. Not once have I seen it through an arrancar's eyes... and I don't really remember my hollow days." She shrugged her small shoulders but his words stunned her, "Do whatever you want... just don't kill me." What a strange shinigami this man was, offering to protect the enemy. Or someone who was supposed to be the enemy.
His question on her destination brought the wall back up a ways, though it wasn't as bad as it had been. "Not sure really. Somewhere to sleep... I usually sleep in the trees but sometimes I'll get lucky and be allowed to sleep in a bed." Neko wanted to smack herself... what if this was some trick? What if his nice guy act was just that, an act? What the hell was she supposed to do then, whack him with her sword? Yeah right, like that was going to work. Agh! There had to be someway for her to figure out if he were really being nice or just acting.

He laughed again, he noticed her almost imperceptible hesitation at his suggestion of protecting her. He didn't really expect her to say yes, so a positive (well, positive for her so far) response was surprising. His offer was honest though, so he was a bit disappointed to see that she still didn't really trust him.

"I'll tell you the truth." he said, genuinely wanting a companion during his time here. "I'm stuck here for the next week or so and I don't know a damn soul here. I'm just looking for a friend so I can get through this week a little quicker."

He looked her in the eyes and smirked. "Anyway, my assignment is to protect the inhabitants of Karakura Town. In my eyes, you're just another citizen of the town." he broke eye contact and looked ahead. "So, should we get out of this rain?"

Neko hesitated, longer this time. Her eyes taking in his every feature, the emotion in his eyes, the expression on his face. Finally she decided to speak up, easy going and laid back, "Well alright. If all you need is a companion." She narrowed her eyes at him slightly, "I don't really need the protection but fine. Do whatever you want, as I said."
She glanced up at the sky, at the rain splashing down onto her hair, onto her ears. She shrugged, motioning for him to take the lead before saying, "And the whole assignment thing. I'm not an assignment. I know that's not what you meant but that's the way it sounded. So just know that you don't need to take that damn thing so seriously around me. I'm not... human." A little sad spark appeared in her eyes but it probably could have been just the trick of the light, for the young arrancar wiped it away almost immediately.

"I'm sorry it sounded that way." he said, unsure of what to do in this situation. For almost one hundred years it had been drilled into his head that the arrancar were the epitome of evil and now one was crying in front of him? If he were more of a thinking man then he would've had more than a couple moral quandaries floating through his head. As she wiped away the single tear, he laid a hand on her shoulder for just a moment. There were no words of comfort he could speak because he simply couldn't understand the situation that she was in. It was just his way of saying "I'm sorry the world is the way it is," with a simple touch.

Voruta walked ahead of her, remembering that she had told him to take the lead. He wondered if it was possible for all races to come together in a single place and work together, for their own benefit. In his heart, he wished to betray Soul Society and create this place, but he knew that he just wasn't strong enough yet. It's only a matter of time... he thought, looking up and the rainy night sky and smiling.

He looked at her for just a second before turning his head forward again. "Why don't you tell me about yourself? What brought you to Karakura Town? Why not some smaller, quieter human town?"

"It's alright," She mumbled, the place where his hand touched slightly numb. Not from the feeling of someone touching her really, but the emotion behind it. This man was not like any ordinary shinigami. Too nice.

She followed him closely, keeping to the left of him but as far away as the side walk allowed. She didn't want to smear his shinigami outfit with blood. When he started talking again, Neko had been watching a little stream of water trickle down the side of the road, into a sewer drain. Her eyes lingered there for a moment before she raised them to look at him, "I was created here. It is my home, I have no other place to go unless I want to live in a box. I barely get a chance to sleep in a bed sometimes and other times I don't want to. So usually I stay in trees and caves... my... creator won't allow me to come back. Like a cat pushing her kitten from her teet when she is tired of suckling them."

She paused before smiling and rolling her eyes, "Besides, I don't really want to leave. Though it may be more exciting. The farthest I've been is Tokyo and I've not been allowed to stray much farther then that."

Voruta smiled as he listened to her speak. He noticed that she had immediately become less distant, as if she had been waiting for a companion as well. It was nice to see that in the end, shinigami and arrancar were kind of the same - people with feelings, wants, and needs. It was strange to hear her talk about her "creator". He didn't really understand, so he asked.

"I'm sorry, you're actually the first arrancar I've ever even seen in person... what do you mean by 'creator'?" He asked sheepishly. His question was meant to be innocent, it was pure curiosity that drove him to want to learn more about her. He found that he was genuinely interested in her, hearing the same stories from the same people in Seireitei had gotten boring. Not too many people were all that interesting, they were just born strong and decided to become shinigami. How amazing. But this girl... from the sound of it, she was forced into this way of life.

"I'm a bit boring, really. I was sent to Soul Society by my mother. She requested that I be trained to become a shinigami, so I did... I've been looking for her for a while." His voice dropped a bit at this point as he looked down for just a second. "I don't know what her name is or anything, but I think I'll find her soon. It's just a matter of time"

He didn't really know why he was telling her this. Maybe he just wanted her to find him interesting. On the inside, he just wanted her to know that life as a shinigami wasn't all fun and games. Some of his fellow shinigami were just hurt by past events and dove into their work to distract them.

Neko chuckled, smiling at his question, "My creator, as in the one who turned me into an arrancar. Aizen is the espada's creator as Kuroden is my own. I would've been glad to be a hollow... I also would've been glad not to have died and BECOME the damn hollow. It's all so confusingly annoying. I WANT to be human but I don't know what my life was like before, so I can't really say that I want it to be the way it used to be. And I don't really remember anything about my hollow years either so it's all out of my head. Kuroden wiped my memory when I was younger, about a year ago."
"At least you can find her, that's all that matters, right?" Neko murmured, keeping her eyes on the ground now. "And I'm happy for you and I wish you luck in finding her. I suppose arrancars and shinigami have that in common... no family. Or if you have them, they aren't your real family or they aren't around you."

Aizen was a name well known to Voruta, he remembered the dramatic murder plot that went on in Seireitei. He didn't fight against the ryoka during their invasion, actually. He was off training, just like always. But this "Kuroden", that was a new name to him. Maybe because it didn't affect his squad so directly he didn't register the name, but Voruta would never forget the name Aizen.

"Why would this Kuroden wipe your memories?" At once, he blushed a bit, feeling as if he was overstepping his boundaries. "I'm sorry, I'm asking too many questions."

He liked what he said about family though. It was nice to see that she was searching for ways to relate to him. He hoped that he was changing the way she felt about shinigami, but who knew? Some shinigami would've murdered her right on the spot earlier, so maybe she was right to be so wary. "True... but maybe we don't really need our real families." He said, feeling stupid for a second before going on. "I mean, family is a great thing, but maybe we're supposed make new relationships and create our own families."

He looked at her and his blush returned again. Why did he care so much what she thought? He wasn't thinking of himself as a representative of the shinigami anymore, he truly cared what she thought about his words. He was confused, but he just tried to relax and stop being so on edge.

Neko laughed, enjoying his blush, rubbing the back of her head and flinching a bit, "No. Not too many, you're just a bit curious. And I don't know why he wiped them... it's just his way, I suppose. Vizards are odd people... then again most peoplee are odd in my eyes."
"I suppose not, friends are family enough," She said, thinking about it. "I've got one... and I suppose we are friendly enough we could be consider friends, so that's two." She flushed, realizing she'd jumped to conclusions about his feelings on that subject. "I mean... if you want to be friends. It's up to you."
So stupid! Can't keep your damn mouth shut for more then a moment, She growled at herself, mentally facepalming.

Voruta smiled at her. He liked that she didn't mind his questions, he had started feeling like he was interrogating her. "Vizard... I understand now." He had heard of Kuroden, but the fact that he was a vizard relegated him to a spot far, far in the back of his head. He was an enemy that outclassed him by a million. Simply put, Voruta didn't matter to him and he didn't matter to Voruta.

He almost laughed at her flushed face, he felt good about not being the only one that was a bit embarrassed. "Of course we're friends. I mean..." He paused for a second, unsure if he wanted to be so forward. "... I have a good reason to come to Karakura even if I'm not assigned now."

She smirked, "Crazy race of beings. They are truly and utterly insane after being exiled." She shook her head slowly, a grin spreading across her face as he spoke those last words, "Glad I could provide you with a good reason to come here then. And at least I have one more friend whose companny I can enjoy."Slowly, she stretched her arms over her head, rolling her shoulders backwards and hearing a satisfactory pop. Stiff shoulders and muscles were the result of rain, but it was a good punishment if it meant that she could dance in the dripping cold water.

"It's strange that you'd be the first friend I'd find here. He said, laughing a bit. "I mean, there's plenty of shinigami here, but to be honest, so many of them are just plain boring.

He liked being around her, it was the same as hanging out with his friends back when he was a human. No "work relationship", no being forced to talk just to avoid awkwardness, they were just friends. He cracked his wrists, an old habit carried over from human life.

"It's nice to know that a lot of what of I've learned about the arrancar doesn't apply to all arrancar. I'm tired of having enemies for no good reason." He said, sighing a bit. "But I guess that's what I signed up for, huh?"