Former Espada, Former Shinigami, Friendly Interactions?! (Locura Only)

Haku stood on the roof of a tall building in Karakura Town, looking down on the Humans below. His pupilless, pinkish white pearl colored right eye scanning the streets below him since his left eye was blind and had a hideous scar going through it as his long, pinkish white pearl colored hair blew in the wind. He flexed his black angel wings coming out of his shoulder-blades a bit, as if to work some of the kinks in them. His pinkish white pearl colored kimono was wrapped tightly around his small, 12 year old frame, his Seven Foot-Bladed Zanpakuto Masamune strapped to his waist. "Hm, perhaps the Lilim have learned the errors of their ways and have repented for their crimes if they are not doing anything to the innocent. If they have, it makes little difference for they will die either way for their crimes against the pure for it is my duty as the Fallen Angel of Vengeance to reap bountiful revenge against the lowly Lilum" he mumbled to himself in his deep, low, raspy voice.

A girl that stood around four feet, seven inches, and possessing a weight of seventy-nine pounds was staring at the boy, masking her reiatsu. Neh? Another person that looks like a child, yet isn't? How interesting. Didn't know there were so many of 'em Locura thought to herself; she had heard that the Soul Socity itself had no less than two lieutenants that looked like children. The wind swayed a little, moving her chocolate brown hair, which was drawn into a ponytail, just a tad. Well, might as well ask him who Lilum is she told herself, clearing her throat and fixing her green eyes on him. Were he to look in her direction, he would see that the clothes she was wearing was her usual outfit; a short-sleeved shirt with the picture of a hollow imprinted upon it, and to cover her lower body, skirt overalls were in place over the shirt, reaching to her knees.

"Mind telling me what Lilum is? Is it some kind of evil organization made up of humans that kidnaps good people for twisted experiments? Or maybe, just maybe, they're an organization that kidnaps cows and experiments on them?" Locura questioned; he would obviously be able to tell that she was insane just by that. As she waited for a reply from him, she fixed the fingerless gloves on one of her hands, which had moved a bit from its ordinary position.

Haku's form didn't seem to react all that much to her voice, not tensing up or anything at the slightest like most people did. Instead, he calmly turned to face the girl, revealing to Locura the rather hideous scar going through his blind left eye that marred his otherwise perfectly young and childlike facial features and raised his right pinkish white eyebrow at the brown-haired, green-eyed girl. "The Lillim is what I call the guilty, the humans that hurt and destroy the innocent and pure, like children. My job is to exterminate the slime known as the Lillim that would dare hurt those who have done nothing to deserve such harshness, to reap glorious vengeance down on the foolish Lillim as the Fallen Angel of Vengeance" he said in his low, deep and raspy voice that heavily contrasted with his young appearance. Locura could see some a small silver heart-shaped locket wrapped around his neck, which indicated that whatever picture was inside it meant a great deal to the Former Shinigami, the locket meaning just as much as the picture.

His reiatsu suggested he was a shinigami, and that would usually put her off from talking to him. The fact that he looked like a child countered that though, which was probably why she was still standing there. Wonder where he got that scar from...? Locura asked herself; it reminded herself of the scar she herself possessed on her back, hidden out of view. Glad that I have it on my back instead of some other, more visible place like him she thought to herself; it was a shame, really, since his otherwise childlike features were marred by it. "The guilty huh? Quite a noble task of you, if I may say so," Locura replied, not put off at all by how he sounded. She did notice the locket he had around his neck but, seeing as how she didn't know him that well yet, she abstained from asking about it. "If I may ask, how do you think one person is going to be able to rid the world of all the guilty people? And what exactly do you define as guilty? People that harm others directly, or people that harm others indirectly? If it's the latter, you have a heck of a goal on your hands, since the smallest crime can have big consequences." Locura went silent again, her gaze on the boy as she wondered what he would say in response.

He frowned at her as she asked him how one single person, meaning he himself, was going to punish all the guilty and his facial features hardened up and became colder. "It doesn't matter if I am one person, I must do as I promised, I must do what I vowed but to answer your second question, I punish the Lillim for their crimes and their actions or inactions that caused an innocent pain or resulted in their death. Whether it be through inaction, indirect harm or direct harm, they will all pay" he said darkly as he clutched his silver locket in his hand tightly. He knew in his heart he might never succeed at what he promised to do but his grief, regret and the vow he made kept him to his word. He didn't know how long it would take him but he will keep at it until he accomplishes what he promised to do.

He vowed to wipe out guilty people huh? Locura thought to herself; she was thinking it was due to whoever had given him that locket, or whoever had a picture in the locket. "You know, punishing people for inaction isn't all that good. Going by your logic, you have to punish everyone, since everyone doesn't act when one person somewhere in the world is killed," Locura decided to point out the flaw in his logic; still, she agreed with the basic principle of it. I wonder...did the person in the locket, or the person who gave him the locket, get killed by a...what'd he call them? Lillim? Locura pondered to herself. "Still, I agree with you on the basic principle; I hate people that kill innocents," Locura commented. "What'd this vow of yours consist of anyways?" she finally decided to ask a question that some might consider personal.

He looked at her with narrowed eyes and Locura could see that the scar he had went through his left eyelid as well when he narrowed his eyes. "Why do you desire to know about the vow I made?" he asked her in a suspicious and guarded manner. He could tell this woman had plenty of power and considering the type of Reiatsu indicated she might be a Hollow, most likely an Espada or a former Espada member. Normally, he would have attacked her but considering he is no longer a part of the Soul Society, it doesn't concern him about what this girl was.

He wanted to know why she wished to know about the vow; fair enough, all things considered. He had probably sensed her reiatsu by now and, being a shinigami, was already on guard. "Well, I'm...curious about you, to be quite honest. There aren't a lot of us who look like kids, but are really older than they look. The ones I know are...well, a lot more cheerful than you are, so naturally, I'm curious. Plus, I think people like us should stick together, despite racial boundaries." Locura stopped speaking than, wondering whether he would accept her reason. She hoped that he would, since she wanted to learn more about the strange boy. Now that I think about it...the three I know of are all female, so he's even more of a rarity Locura told herself.

He listened to her as she told him why she was curious and sighed, figuring that he could trust her with his most carefully guarded secret. "It was the day I died and the circumstances around it that eventually lead to my chosen path. I had a sister, whom I loved like you could not imagine. Our parents died at a young age, when I was 4 and she was 2, leaving us orphaned and on the streets, unwanted and lost. For 8 years, we were like that, having to survive the cold, harsh reality of the real world. I did plenty of things I am not proud of, pickpocketing, extortion and even went so far as to mug people, though it was usually those who had more money then they could spend on their own or other criminals, all to survive but for the sake of my sister, rather then myself. Then, when I was 12 and she was 10, we were attacked by a serial killer. She was killed painlessly by the disgusting Lillim but as soon as she died, I became enraged and attacked him, managing to slit his throat with a knife I kept on hand but he survived long enough to use his entire clip of bullets on me and ended my life just as he ended hers" here he stopped to swallow a lump that appeared in his throat, biting back a sob and holding in his tears so she wouldn't see him at his most vulnerable.

After taking a few deep breaths to calm himself, he started speaking again. "After my soul was saved, I found my sister was laid to rest, though my body was never found. For most of my time, I spent in the Soul Society gaining power though I guess I slowly went insane from my grief and regret that I never really got over and visited her grave. I vowed on my sister Kanna's gravestone that I would make sure the Lillim paid so that no innocents like her had to pay for the actions of others by becoming the Fallen Angel of Vengeance and abandoning the Soul Society" he finished explaining to her as he rubbed the back of his neck, doing his best to keep his emotions securely locked and keeping his face and eyes as emotionless and calm as possible.

Locura listened to the boy's story, and what a story it was. Throughout the whole thing, she was quiet, and polite as she listened. She kind of felt bad for him, all things considered; she couldn't help but wonder why a serial killer would decide to kill two children that were just wandering the streets, not harming a soul. Thinking about that angered the usually happy ex-espada, and only Haku continuing his story managed to calm her down enough so that she could continue to listen. His sister's body was found, but not his? Strange, since his story implies that he slashed the kill right after his sister was killed Locura thought to herself, a sigh escaping her lips as she began to speak. "You don't have to hold back your emotions Haku; emotions are the very fundamentals of humans and, by extension, us. Not crying because you don't want to look weak is a dumb reason to not cry; everyone cries in their lifetime," Locura stated; that included her. When she had first became an arrancar and realized what she had done, she had moped around for a long time. It wasn't easy being a mindless creature for many years, only to suddenly be sentient again and realize you had eaten your parents. "I kinda know where you're coming from though," Locura decided to add, a small frown on her face as she decided to explain.

"You see, my father had someone that was jealous of him, and just because of that, the man tried to kill my father; at least, I think it was going to be just my father," Locura decided to omit the fact that she was the one who ahd caused their deaths, albeit accidentally. "So I can understand wanting to take revenge against despicable people. Don't try and punish people for inaction though, unless they know that the act is going to happen and do nothing," Locura was, at that moment, wondering how he would react if she decided to join him on his quest to punish Lillims. "Does that locket you have contain a picture of your sister?" Locura asked another question, her curiosity getting the better of her once again, since it seemed like another personal question.

He listened to her story quietly and indeed he could see that she knew a bit about why he does what he does. When she asked him about the locket, he looked down at it and nodded. "Indeed it does. My sister gave me this locket as a memento to keep close to me so that I'll always remember her" he said as he opened the locket and showed it to Locura. It showed a picture of a 7 year old Haku without his scar, a normal seeing left eye and no angel wings wearing the kimono he is wearing now, albeit of it being a smaller size, wearing a childish, wide grin with his arms wrapped around the body a young, 5 year old girl with snowy white hair, a white flower tucker behind her ear, pupilless black eyes and slightly pale skin. She wore a white kimono with the pattern of sakura petals and had a small doll clutched in her hands, a thin, triangular nose, a light pink blush adorning her face and giving the camera a small, shy smile as she partially hid herself in Haku's chest. The sheer happiness radiating in their eyes despite having no home or parents not seeming to bother either, the small, innocent version of Haku seemingly holding his sister in a protective embrace, his chin resting on top of the girl's head.

Locura looked at the locket as he showed it to her; it was quite heartbreaking to look at, knowing what happened to the two of them afterwards. She noticed that, despite having nothing other than each other, they were utterly content with what they had. Makes me wonder what my life would have been like if I had a sibling...probably would have been worse, considering the fact that they would have been in the house too when it started burning Locura told herself, examining the picture for a few moments before looking up at Haku. "The both of you look so happy in that picture...kinda makes me wish that there was a way to turn back time so that the horrible event didn't happen to you," Locura told him, casting a look back to the locket as she asked her next question. "From how your life turned out after you went to the Soul Society, I guess that you couldn't find your sister there? I'm surprised, really, since if they were able to lead you to the Soul Society, they should have been able to find the soul of your sister and lead her there as well." Locura stated; of course, she wasn't an expert, so she could be incorrect on how shinigami did things. After she asked her question, Locura took her gaze off of the locket and looked at him once more, curious to see what he had to say in response to that.

He turned his attention to the locket's picture and stared at it with an intense expression, guilt and regret very obvious in his facial features as he stared at the picture with a look of longing as he listened to her. At the mention of the Soul Society and how they were unable to find her, he scowled. "For all I know, they could have brought my sister along with me but they didn't. They didn't even mention my sister at all during the entire years I have been there" he said with an expression of anger as he closed the locket and gripped it tightly, closing his eyes and sniffed a bit as one tear escaped him and went down his face, his expression of anger turning into that of grief and borderline depression.

"Shinigami always seemed like a big group of jerks to me. The fact that they didn't bring your sister along with you just kinda confirms that for me," Locura replied, showing how biased she was against the shinigami. The fact that they also killed hollows didn't help the fact that she thought of them that way. So they didn't even mention his sister once to him...how heartless Locura thought to herself, wondering whether now was a good time to put forth her offer of helping him in his task. "Haku...I was thinking. What would you say to me helping you in your task to punish bad people a.k.a Lillims?" Locura decided to ask of him; mostly, she was putting forth the offer so he wouldn't have to be so lonely anymore. She thought that having another person to help him in his task would achieve that.

He looked at her as he wiped the tear away and shifted from one foot to the other. "Why would you wanna help me?" he asked her with a curious frown on his face. He seemed intrigued as to why she would help him with his goals when he would probably never achieve what he vowed to do.

"Well, you seem kinda...lonely," Locura started by saying. "I figure that if you have someone to help you with what you're doing, you won't be so lonely anymore," Locura offered a friendly smile to him here, to show how genuine she was about it, before continuing. "Besides that...I kinda agree with you about the Lillims. People that injure innocents shouldn't be allowed to exist."

He looked at her with narrowed eyes, obviously trying to see if she was lying. When he could not find any traces of a lie, his stony and icy facial features softened up a bit and he turned away from her a bit. "My loneliness is not important, it doesn't matter. My goals, my memories and my promise keep me going, despite the slowly increasing madness the loneliness is bringing upon me" he said as he closed his left eye and caressed the scar on his face. It seemed he truly didn't care for his own happiness, obviously putting his sister and his promise he made on her grave far above that of his own being. It seemed he would do anything for his sister, even sacrifice his own happiness for her.

"Do you think your sister would want you speaking like that, Haku?" Locura asked of him, careful to not sound accusatory; she didn't want to make him angry or anything, after all. "I don't think she would want you to sacrifice what you have left just for the sake of a single goal," Locura told him; it was about then that she realized he hadn't said yes or no to her request, so she was wondering whether he was judging her based on her current actions. "Besides that, if you do keep going insane, who's to say that you'll still be able to differentiate between innocent people and Lillims? By sacrificing what makes a person a person, you're going to hurt your goal." she pointed out, going silent at that, wondering if she had the desired effect on him or not.

He looked at her in surprise when she brought up his sister and how she would feel. He answered her question about his sister with a slow shake of his head. However, when she brought up her second question, he sighed and conceded. "You are right, if I go insane, how will I know the difference between the innocent and the Lillim? I would be no better then the guilty if I lost control over my sanity. If you truly desire to aid me, then I shall accept your proposal. You can join me if you so choose" he said to her with a nod of his head, showing he was agreeing with her.

I hope his sister IS still out there somewhere...I'm sure that news would definitely cheer him up Locura thought to herselfas she watched him shake his head in response to what she was saying about his sister. She was, however, glad when he conceded to her second point, and a small smile found its way to her face after he finished speaking. "Good to hear Haku...like I said, of course I'm going to join you in your task," she said to him. "Oh, also, this now makes the two of us friends; you can depend on me, okay Haku?" Locura felt that, after she asked this, the two of them would part ways, at least for the moment.

He stiffened up a bit when she said he could rely on her. "I...I never had to rely on anyone before. I was always the one being relied upon, the one to take care of everything" he said as he rubbed the back of his neck. Obviously, he was very used to being the one to take care of things for others, more specifically his sister. It was obvious he wasn't used to relying on another person to help him with something.

"Well, you don't have to be like that anymore, Haku-chan," Locura told him; if he paid attention, he might notice the fact that she attached -chan to the end of his name. Ordinarily, she would have given him a nickname as well, but his name was already so short, so she really couldn't. "Friends rely on each other, and do things together to strengthen their bond," Locura said to him, walking in his direction as she spoke and stopping once she was near him. "Now then, since I'm about to depart, I think it's fitting we seal this friendship with a hug," Locura told him. "You do know what those are, right?" she questioned jokingly, saying this because he seemed unfamiliar with the term friendship.

He raised an eyebrow when she used the term -chan at the end of his name but didn't comment on it. "Yes, I know what a hug is but I haven't had one of those in 85 years, the last person to hug me being my sister Kanna" he said as he bit his lip and shifted from foot to foot nervously, hesitant to initiate physical contact with Locura.

"8-85 years? That's far too long to go without a hug," Locura commented in surprise; how someone could go so long without physical contact at all was beyond her. She waited for a while, wondering if he would take the lead before she sighed. "Shifting from foot to foot isn't how you hug someone," Locura stated, and promptly after saying that, she hugged her new friend gently for a few moments before pulling back. "See? Not so bad, was it?"

His reaction to her hug was to tense up very rigidly, his face in a frozen expression of surprise and shock, practically frozen on the spot from his shock, which was why he didn't move to hug her back. It was astounding how such a simple action could effect the black-angel-winged Former Shinigami in such a way, who seems like a person who kept a tight control on his emotions.