A night time relaxtion[Nao |Ignatius]

The moon bathed the forest with its light making it slightly easy to see. Two humans enjoyed the camp fire they had made in a clearing along with a large tent and two chairs they sat in. A red headed young man made a habit smoothing back his hair while cooking a marshmallow on a long fork in his other hand. Rodeo De Chocobo could be heard playing on the radio between the two.

"So what are we having, Ignatius?" Rubedo asked his partner. While the puffy morsel was quite yummy to snack on it did little to fill his stomach as it rumbled quietly in protest.

The moon shone its light down upon the two young men sitting by the campfire. It had been quite a while since they’d had nearly this much time to simply be friends and hang out together, and was one of the first real breaks that Ignatius had gotten in years. He knew that it wasn’t a ‘true’ vacation from his duties as retainer but, thus far, the wayward princess had proven illusive to their attempts at hunting her. That was, perhaps, where his biggest fault lay. While Ignatius was quite a good hollow tracker, when it came to people he was far less effective at doing so.

He looked over at Rubedo, who was sitting by the fire and cooking a marshmallow and chuckled. His childhood friend had always been a big fan of sweets, and was messing with his hair. Ignatius, on the other hand, stood over the small grill that he always brought on campouts, or hunts, a skillet on one burner, and pot on the other.

“Well, Rubedo, you’re quite in luck. Instead of that single mess of sugary fluffiness, that you’re so casually cooking and devouring, we’re going to be having grilled sirloin with garlic mashed potatoes. This was a favorite of her highness, as well as yourself if I recall, and so I thought that with her royal pain in the ass out of the way, we could simply enjoy a good night’s meal.” He tapped his foot to the song that was playing on the radio. “And you’re playing one of my favorite songs, so I don’t know why we shouldn’t think of this as something of a celebration.” He grinned a bit. “Don’t get me wrong, I want to find her highness, but I’m enjoying this time of not having to deal with her, for the time being.”

Nao was in deep trouble, and she knew it. Losing a Gigai was bad news, especially if you were boneheaded enough to get it destroyed after less than a few hours on assignment. Obviously, she needed to return back to the Seireitei in order to report on the strange shaman who had tried to subjugate her, but her thoughts kept racing back to how mad her supervising officer was going to be when she submitted her gigai replacement request.

She couldn’t go back from inside of the city limits, that much was clear. Anatoly was still out there somewhere and the last thing she wanted was to unleash someone like that on her home. His control over spirits mandated that Shinigami way more important than her tackle the problem. It was such that she had made her way to the woods outside of town, submitting her request for retrieval on her pager.

She groaned when the small blip showed up indicating her ideal return point. For whatever reason, it was roughly three miles deeper into the woods. Still, the path looked clear of any trouble. Not feeling the need to exercise any caution due to the fact that she was outside of the body mortals could see her in, Nao set out through the trees.

Her path wasn’t that treacherous, her biggest impediments being a few fallen trees and a small hill, but it wasn’t that bad. She was almost starting to like it when she was suddenly snapped back to reality by the sound of music. She thought to go around it, but mortals might serve as an effective deterrent if Anatoly were still stalking her.

With added haste, she hurried off toward the sound of the noise, coming upon two cute boys hanging out by a campfire talking about finding a princess. She’d heard talk of mortal games and, assuming they must be talking about one of those, paid it no mind, strolling boldly into the campsite with a big grin on her face for having been so clever to use these young gentlemen as cover for her escape and completely unaware that they were able to see the slightly disheveled Shihakusho-clad Shinigami.

“I told you that you shouldn’t grab it with your bare hands, Rubedo,” Ignatius said, flipping one of the steaks. “You never listen to food karma, no matter how many times I tell you that it will bite you in the ass. Instead you just grab whatever you seem to find on hand. I’m surprised, sometimes that your mother was able to get you to eat anything healthy at all.” He looked up for a few seconds. “How have you survived this long, again?”

He chuckled at his friend’s words. Rubedo’d been working for her nearly as long as Ignatius had, except as her bodyguard instead of as her butler. Depending on which one you asked, the other had the easiest job and in both ways, the other was right. But nowadays they were trying to find the stupid brat and Ignatius wasn’t entirely sure if he wanted to find her sometimes. She was rude to her mother and father, entitled to pretty much everything and, if she wasn’t the best at something, would throw a tantrum about it. He still remember when Rubedo’d killed one of the hollows that they’d been after. It hadn’t been fair, she’d whined. He still grimaced thinking about it.

That was when Ignatius heard the sound of brush being crushed, and turned to the sound, spear forming almost immediately. The moment that he saw the black shihakusho, the weapon dispersed. “Oh, fantastic.” He looked over at Rubedo, as he went back to flipping a steak. “For heaven’s sakes, can you at least PRETEND to be attentive? A Shinigami walks into our camp and you’re just sitting over there like your mother just came in for tea!”

She was curious about what the two young men were up to, as well as the song they had playing. It was hardly the time, but an uptempo beat like that was not commonly available in the dusky halls of First Division. The food they were eating also intrigued her. Nao had always been a fan of both sweets and steak. There wasn’t any harm in a quick sniff, especially if it were going to put her spiritual pathway directly across their camp in case Anatoly was following.

That cheerful curiosity vanished the second one of the boys turned toward her and produced a spear out of thin air. Nao shrunk back in fear, holding a hand out and preparing to cast a protective barrier, but he dissipated his weapon just as quickly. She was still on edge at his response, though she opted not to take any actions that might be construed as aggressive. She was slightly injured, alone, and outnumbered by at least two to one. Worse still, these two knew what Shinigami were. Were they more shamans like Anatoly? Could they be working with that evil man?

”I’m sorry,” she meekly apologized, still holding her hesitant pose, ”I didn’t think you could see me. I don’t want to hurt you.” Though she’d managed to heal up at least the surface-level damage to her body, she hadn’t had time to do anything about her scuffed and slightly torn robes or her disheveled hair. She could only hope that the fact that one of them was supposed to be on watch didn’t mean that they had been placed on watch for her, as it was a dead giveaway she’d had an encounter with something or someone.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah I will be careful next time,” Rubedo grunted as Iggy quipped on him. “I had to force myself to eat it or give it to the dog.” he chuckled.

The redhead then turned his attention to the Shinigami that stumbled into their humble camp. She looked excited about something and a bit exhausted. There was no time to complain about miss princess now and he let out an exhale, tensing a bit at the sight, one he wanted to ignore and hopefully meander back to her duties. Now she would know that two humans can see her. Blast it all.

The young man stood up, turned to the Shinigami, and spoke in a calming manner. “Lady you look wounded, you may recoup at your leisure if you wish.” he gestured to his seat and stepped around the fire. He looked over at Iggy tucking away his lighter as not to look like an addict and spoke once more. “If you don’t mind making extra for the miss.”

It was best to be polite to the guest, she didn’t seem to have any ill intent. At least for now.  He doubts the shinigami would want to tangle with two dudes that could overwhelm her, he just hoped she hadn’t called for back up yet.

Ignatius sighed at Rubedo’s rather flippant disregard to the request of being more attentive. “Oh, well. No harm done, I suppose.” He couldn’t help but notice that she’d withdrawn a bit when he’d formed his weapon and honestly, given her state, he couldn’t exactly blame her. He hadn’t meant to be so jumpy but given the fact that they were two quincy, fairly young quincy at that, alone in the woods? Yeah, Ignatius wasn’t about to take any chances.

Turning back to his grill, Ignatius adjusted his glasses with his index finger. “Please, forgive me my caution. God forbid one of us keeps a level head.” He sighed a bit and continued cooking the steak that he’d been working on. “Does food from the world of the living even do much for Shinigami? I was under the impression that only food from their dimension did anything for them. Then again, the education as far as the ‘land of the dead’ is quite limited.” He chuckled a little bit. “Besides, two strapping young men alone in the woods? Well heaven knows what one might think.”

There was something odd about the situation of two quincy and a shinigami all sitting down to have a meal together. It was, in its own perverse way, rather poetic, though there HAD to be a joke there. Maybe he’d make one up? No. Best not to let it slip that he and Rubedo were quincy. Just odd humans on a camping trip in the middle of the woods.

He looked over at the Shinigami. “As Rubedo said, you are more than free to rest here for a while and have a hot meal, if you’ve time to spare.” He looked back down at the steak and turned it over once. “How do you like yours? Medium? Medium well?”

Nao glanced anxiously between the two young men, not sure of what to do. They certainly seemed friendly, but Anatoly had used a ruse to get close to her too before he started to torture the very essence of her being. She wasn’t about to make the same mistake twice. She was getting answers before she made any more mistakes.

That steak did smell damn good, though. If there was one thing Nao was a sucker for, it was a tasty meal. From a distance, she wondered if they were butter basting the steak and what sorts of herbs might be going onto it to enhance its flavor profile. The garlic mashed potatoes were easy to imagine too, and she found herself wondering if they had a cheese grater stuck away somewhere to add a little extra flavor to the party.

”Medium rare, but I don’t know either. I don’t get invited to many barbecues. I wouldn’t mind a taste, though,” she confessed as she took a single wary step forward. There was no harm in volunteering such simple information. It seemed an awful lot less aggressive than what the other mortal she had run into tonight had tried to find out from her. She quickly shot a glance over her shoulder to verify nobody had given her any chase before turning back to the fine gentlemen, her concerns still strong on her mind. ”You two wouldn’t happen to be shamans, would you?” she asked back, carefully watching their faces for any signs of deception.

Rubedo gave a snooty look to his best friend as he once jabbed at his lack of attentiveness. Normally he would argue back but oftentimes Ignatius saw right through him, and he was the only person to allow jabs like that to his character. He knew Iggy’s words were likely not something out of malicious intent but words of wisdom to slap him in the face - sometimes going through him.

The Shinigami on the other hand didn't know what to take of. Her body emotions showed she was running from something and her look over the shoulder suggested maybe she needed a haven. Ruby tried to give an aura of calmness but sometimes his looks made him look annoyed when in deep attentive thought. He stood there regardless, waiting for the Shinigami to ease down and accept the chair when she chose so. Though seeing two strapping young men who can see ghosts could put anyone on edge.

The word shamans triggered a curious gaze at Nao. Many things ran through his mind of the culprit that could be setting this lass on alert. The other thoughts were thinking of how to answer her question without giving away their Quincy-ness.

“No, we are just spiritual aware bodyguards that protect the weak,” Rubedo said, running a hand through his hair. That much was the truth of things, now that they didn’t have a princess to watch over they mainly helped the defenseless other humans who needed a hand against the menace of the bestial creatures that hunted for their souls. “If anyone is after you, ma’am, we won’t let any harm come to your person. You have my word.” he said in a flourishing bow to the shinigami then straightened with a comely smile.

Ignatius nodded, smiling as she said that she liked it medium rare, and slathered a little bit more sauce onto it, and then reached into the pot with his ladle scooping out some mashed potatoes. He turned the steak over a few more times before picking it from the pan and setting it gently on the plate that he’d had originally set aside for Rubedo. Grabbing his gloves, he put another on the pan before walking around the grill in front of him and approached her with a warm smile.

“I can assure you, my lady, that shamans we are not. just oddly powered humans with a penchant for camping.” He smiled at her, holding the plate out to her. “Now, this one wasn’t butterflied, so the juices have been nice and cooked into it and the steak has a light butter and garlic drizzle. Please don’t think less of us, if anyone has assailed you. I can understand why you might be a bit hesitant to trust us, should something less than ideal have happened to you. But we are no threat and mean you no harm.” It angered him to be treating a shinigami so kindly, but they had their own problems to deal with and he shouldn’t be so hard on her.

Once she’d taken the plate, Ignatius turned around and walked back to the grilling side of the grill and began to turn the other steak. “And besides we’ll be able to protect you, while you’re here, so please relax by the fire for a bit. You’ve no need to fear either of us.” Then he looked at Rubedo. “Yours is up next, Rubedo. Just be patient a little longer.”

Nao hesitated, still too nervous to approach, but thankfully the taller of the two gentlemen took care of that for her, walking over and handing her a plate loaded up with campfire steak and mashed potatoes. The smell was indeed even more appetizing close up, and she felt some of her nervousness passing after he walked back and started cooking another piece of meat.

After a brief nervous stammer, Nao managed to calm herself down and continue speaking unhindered. ”I, well, thank you,” she said, bowing deeper than she had any sane right to. Something about this whole thing seemed off, but if they truly did protect the weak, then she was in good hands.

”There was a man back in town who went by the name Anatoly. He,” she started, hesitating as she was not sure exactly what he had been trying to do or if wave even right of her to share that kind of intelligence with random humans she’d just met? Rules and regulations strictly required that she report everything that happened in an After Action Report for submittal to her supervisor and several individuals in Fifth Division normally tasked with supporting the area.

This wasn’t a normal situation though, and he had said that he wasn’t going to be going after any more Shinigami. That left Hollows or, potentially, people like them as his only remaining targets, both of which were unappealing ideas. A crazy man running around with an army of enslaved Hollow was a threat to more than just the Balance. If one or, much worse, multiple of those beasts had the intellect and abilities of that man backing them, he might well be able to pose a threat to the Seireitei. He had been able to draw out Murat. What if he honed that ability and turned it against better Shinigami than her? Giving these two men a heads up might make it so the problem could be dealt with without the need to potentially feed the man the building blocks to make an even stronger army.

Finding the justification and resolve she needed, Nao nodded to herself in affirmation. ”He tried to enslave me. He said he was a shaman and wanted a spirit guardian. He blew up my false body, tried to drown me, summoned a tornado, and covered me in ice. I only got away because of some timely intervention,” she explained, walking closer and picking up some silverware so she could try the food and hopefully replenish some of her lost energy after that fight.

“That’s fine, I can wait,” Rubedo said to Ignatius. The aroma of juicy steak made his stomach rumble a tad, though he would have to wait a bit longer for real food to satisfy his craving. To keep himself distracted, he strode into the tent to look into the supplies they had in a camping bag to see if they had any spare folding chairs. After a bit of rummaging, he found one and returned outside swinging it open with one hand and plopped it on the ground before seating himself.

He had bits about a man who enslaved this lady and rose a single brow upward. Who could have done so distasteful to these shinigami? Surely it couldn’t be a human. He had heard these reapers wiped out their kind many, many years ago - surely they didn’t become this underwhelming, that was impossible in his mind. His eyebrows furrowed as he listened in more on her tale and now understood why she asked if they were shamans, too.

“Aantoly, hm? Can’t say we have run into such a fellow but we will have words if we come across him,” he said placing one leg over the other and hooking his fingers together then resting them behind his head. “I take it you were not grouped in with patrols or got separated?” it seemed quite odd for her to be alone on the world of the living with hollow and vengeful humans on the loose. He was most surprised in meeting yet another Shinigami in Karakura, though if he didn’t show off his powers too much they wouldn’t bother them or ask questions. It was hard to ignore the things you could see with your own eyes. The thought of seeing more of this group sent a shiver down his spine, would another genocide of humans happen? He tucked that morbid memory away and focused on Nao, for the time being, she needed rest and support and he couldn’t just hate on every little thing because of a bad history or repeat another.

Ignatius nodded appreciatively when Nao took the plate and even more so, when Rubedo said that he could wait. He couldn’t deny that even Rubedo seemed to be maturing rapidly and he was beginning to wonder if staying in their isolated locations was doing more harm for them than good. Ever since he’d left, both he and Rubedo had grown in ways that Ignatius hadn’t expected. He tested his wrist. He knew that they would grow, of course, as that was the nature of being alive. What he hadn’t expected, though, was in the way that they’d grow; hell here they were, having dinner with a Shinigami.

Yet when she explained that it was a shaman that had assailed her, a human, Ignatius couldn’t help but be surprised, and couldn’t really contain the look of surprise. “A shaman…” He shook his head. “Apologies, but my intel on the many disparate iterations of humans is quite limited.” He flipped the steak, to sear it on its other side. None of the quincy clans he’d met with had mentioned anything about a shaman, or any shamans. It was worrying to not have any intelligence on such a potential adversary. “Drown? Tornado? Covered you in ice?” Ignatius shook his head, clicking his tongue. “Not very much of a gentleman. Poor form to do such things. Should’ve simply fought you hand to hand. Enslavement, though is a terrible thing. I’m glad that you escaped.”

Rubedo was quick to bring up a good point, though, and one that Ignatius had been only slightly concerned about: a patrol. If she’d been walking with more then it was a possibility that they would know what was going on and come to help. Or worse, get worried and come to rescue her. Ignatius didn’t like the thought of having to potentially deal with additional Shinigami, but at the same time, they were sworn to defend those that didn’t have any capable defense, or who were in dire straits. He hated that he had to extend such defense to a Shinigami, but Rubedo had always stuck to the old adage “let bygones be bygones” and even Ignatius preferred to stick to that nowadays as well.

“How in the world did he destroy a fake body? That seems like quite the feat, if I may be so bold.”

”Solo assignment, but I had backup that's hopefully chasing him down,” she truthfully answered as she reached for a fork. She preferred to eat with chopsticks, but they hadn’t pre-cut the steak and she didn’t much fancy using her Zanpakuto in front of strangers in order to cut meat, even if she suspected Murat wouldn’t mind the grease. She made her way over to the new chair that had been provided for her and popped down in it, really grateful for their hospitality.

Taking a bite and chewing it appreciatively, Nao hummed along before finally giving a nod to her chef. ”Very well cooked. My compliments. Oh, shoot!” she exclaimed out of suddenly as she realized her rudeness, ”I’m sorry. I was so worried about him that I completely forgot my manners. Nao Aoki, First Division Administration Unit.” She stood up and gave a little bow before returning to her seat and resuming her eating, deciding to try the mashed potatoes next and letting out a pleased little moan as she let the buttery goodness wash over her tongue.

It was tempting to add on that she worked in forms and processing, but she had the sense to realize how silly that might make her look. ”He caught me somewhat unaware, if I’m being honest. I was just doing a standard individual patrol for any spirits that needed help passing on. Destroying one of our fake bodies can be about as easy as destroying a normal human body, though. It’s why I’m always careful to try and prevent collateral damage when I get sent on assignment. You don’t want to see the kind of damage a wayward Shakkaho can do.”

Rubedo let out an “Ah” to the Shinigami’s response to the patrol. Lately, Karakura had been a hot spot of more activity though it still raked his brain why the Shinigami weren't out in force, perhaps they had more confidence in going alone and handling things. Ruby mused a bit while Nao made herself comfortable in the presence of the spiritually aware. A good meal was good for the soul.

Nao’s sudden exclamation jolted the redhead out of his deep thoughts. He peered over trying to process what the squads meant then the words slapped him in the face: Administration Unit. An eyebrow slowly moved up at that notion; she was in a position of importance, hell his tongue was tied at this revelation. They had to tread very carefully or perhaps help their cause in lessening another war if she found out they were these Soul Destroyers that caused so much havoc in the past. Rubedo scratched at his head as he pondered once again, maybe she could tell them what triggered the war. History was always told differently to the winners. He tempered away those thoughts and shook his head, this was about her problems, not his.

“The name is Rubedo,” he said, unfurling his leg and standing up to return a bow then sitting back down.  

“That is interesting, I don’t think I’ve heard of fake bodies being used.” he mused. Either he skimmed about Shinigami using fake bodies or information was lost on their disguises. Ignatius
can scold him later on not doing his homework. For now, he was oblivious to most Shinigami tech, after all, it was better to be an ignorant human.  “I bet your spells are quite dangerous in this world. As a member of this Administration field do you take note of this kind of collateral and how do you all fix it if it becomes a problem?”

Despite how calm he seemed to be, Ignatius was horribly on edge. Here were two quincy hosting a Shinigami at their own camp; they needed to be careful, every word that they said could be potentially put into a report. The LAST thing they needed was to reveal that they were quincy. Ignatius was not the kind of person that wanted to be potentially responsible for the reveal, and potential extermination, of their species. He also continued eyeing Rubedo as he cooked, though he did his best to not show it. The glasses were of wonderful help as they often made it look like he was simply looking down at the steak, as he threw some garlic butter on it.

His ignorance of the Shinigami, as well as their abilities and equipment, continued to both astound and aggravate Ignatius, who seemed to glare at his friend a moment, pushing his glasses up with an index finger. “I’ve heard of these fake bodies,” he said, as if to educate his friend who kept failing to study. “They apparently allow the Shinigami a exist, corporeally, in the physical world and interact with it. With this they often keep a close eye on our world.” He stretched a bit, before flipping over the steak one last time, putting it onto a plate and slapping another one down onto the grill. “Many spiritually aware humans, however, are aware of this and are thus careful of the information they share with others.”

Loading up Rubedo’s plate with mashed potatoes, he walked around the grill and handed the plate to Rubedo. “I would certainly hope so,” he muttered in reply to Ruby’s question. “After all, we often run into collateral issues, I would hope that the administration division would be quite on top of it, or at the very least, has the capacity to assign a group to take care of it. If not, well, I worry for the bureaucracy of the Shinigami.” He smiled as he said this and walked back around the grill. “But, for the time being, at least, we should take this moment to recuperate, as we can.”

”Collateral damage?” she asked, turning between the two before she set about cutting the steak more and sizing up a nicely sized piece, ”We have cleanup teams that handle that. Don't worry, I've already sent a preliminary report in on the damages caused by my fight with Anatoly. We’d be pretty poor caretakers of the cycle and awful guardians for you mortals if we were smashing up your cities and leaving them like that. If you do see one of our patrols, it’s probably best to just keep your head down, though. Those of us in First aren’t known for a kill first ask questions later attitude, but our Fifth Division can be considerably more aggressive. My day-to-day mostly deals with tasks critical to making sure the rest of our society is able to function. It’s hard to develop an itchy blade hand when you see firsthand the kind of effort that people need to put in to something so basic as construction.”

It was a good idea to warn them of how to stay safe, Nao figured. Though their souls would no doubt still go through the cycle if they were cut down in the streets by one of the Seireitei’s finest, they were able to arm themselves and she could see an overzealous member of Fifth getting themselves killed trying to take one of these spiritualists on. It was really safer for everyone involved if they knew to steer clear and let the professionals handle it.

”As for my own capabilities, I’m far more skilled with our destructive arts. Our Zanpakuto are able to deal with the monsters that plague your streets but I find that it’s far better to subdue a Hollow at range. That generally leads to less damage to structures or endangerment of mortal lives. Until the business with Anatoly tonight, I’d actually never caused any damage beyond breaking a fence or two,” she said with a smile as she picked out her next bite and stabbed it with the fork.

She chewed on the steak for a moment, mourning the loss of that clean streak. Still, she hadn't accidentally injured any mortals on any of her limited trips to Earth, and that was something to be proud of. Swallowing, she shrugged and continued talking. ”It’s easier to do that when you only make it to Earth every few decades, I suppose. Oh! Speaking of which, there was this fascinating band who was playing the last time I was here. I pulled stadium duty. We like to keep someone on hand for large events just in case the concentration of mortal souls draws a Hollow out of hiding, so I got to listen in to their concert in full. I was expecting some calming prayer music, but they were considerably louder than I would have thought. Not bad, though, and the man who was playing the drums was quite energetic. I want to say they were called Nirvana. Do either of you happen to know when they will be performing next?”

Ignatius wonderfully threw him under the bus when it came to Shinigami knowledge. It took a lot of significant will to not move his hand to his face and merely nodded as if he was actually taking in what he said, in his mind, he was just smacking himself over a brick wall. Sure he wasn't all that well trained (hint lazy) in knowing all the doodads of Shinigami technology but he did know they were like ants if you harmed at least one of them they’d flock in droves.

“How many squads are there? And do the Shinigami take time to educate the ones that can see them?” he asked, quite curious about that take. “It seems fifth is the most aggressive squad I’ve heard but how would one know besides that? Do you all wear badges to denote your squads?”

Rubedo listened in further as Nao explained her skills and seemed proud not causing too much damage other than the poor fence. It seemed they all had capable tools at their focus just like the rest of the spiritual world with their sorcery and swords.

The next thing she brought up made him blink a few times. It was quite amusing to see someone from another realm interested in bands. He chuckled then responded. “I don’t know. Do you have any info on that Iggy? I don't think we've been to a performance in a few years.” an idea sprung into mind. He stood up and moved to the tent before coming back out with a tape cassette and popped it into the radio pressing play on it Nirvana - "Blew" started playing.

Ignatius had always been a very conservative person, never doing more or less than what his station had demanded of him, though this was perhaps the strangest thing of all. He’d made dinner countless times for the royal brat as well as Rubedo himself, but having to make dinner for a Shinigami? Yeah, this was going to be on his list of “things I’d never thought that I would ever have to do”. Still, she seemed nice enough, mostly because she didn’t know that Ignatius and Rubedo were quincies, but hey why look a gift horse in the mouth, right? It wasn’t like she was actively working on the normal ‘destroy all quincy’ idiocy that most Shinigami seemed to have; hell she wasn’t even talking about it. Though, the fact that a shaman had made it to Karakura, without him knowing, did bother Ignatius a bit.

Pretending not to hear Rubedo’s question, Ignatius continued cooking his steak all the while his own thoughts began stewing in his mind. He hoped that their bratty princess hadn’t run into a Shinigami. She was so reckless and thoughtless that she’d probably start a fight with one without even considering the consequences for the rest of her kind. Most Shinigami would report something like a “resurgence of quincy”, then their superiors would look at it and then, well, there would be another culling. Though he knew that the rest of the quincy wouldn’t just lie down, Ignatius would prefer to not have to fight the warriors of the other realm.

Ignatius chuckled a bit as Nao spoke about Nirvana. “Wait, Shinigami actually listen to music that isn’t just from their own world, or old style Japanese? I’m legitimately surprised, given the way that you all dress and oftentimes behave. They say that chivalry is dead in the world of the living but, from what I understand, bushido isn’t within the world of the dead.” He chuckled a bit. “I know that they had a reunion concert a ways back, but for the life of me, we were unfortunately not able to make it. I’m afraid that my information there is extremely lacking.”

”That’s fine. As for us, we certainly don’t have the same kind of music readily available as you do,” she said pleasantly as she focused on the song. They did have some technology that was easily on par with or even surpassing what there was on earth, but tradition dictated much. Her supervisor would also never allow her to have something like a radio in her office.

She let the clearly uninformed and unintended slight about Bushido slide when it was made, enjoying her steak and the music and not bothering to clarify for fear of offending her hosts. It was only after she had a few more bites that she offered a gently worded reminder. ”The Soul Society predates the today's Japan, you know? Really, it predates the Japan I could have known when I originally died, too. I’m only one hundred and,” she paused, doing some mental math, ”fifty-three years old. And of that I’ve only been a Shinigami for the last eighty years. Eighty-eight if you count Academy, but nobody counts Academy.”

Nao wasn’t particularly concerned about letting these two know more about Shinigami in general. She imagined that she was probably the only one these two would ever meet and, if they had gotten any misconceptions from their spiritualist elders, it was only fitting that she correct those. It wasn’t like two spiritualist boys knowing the basic structure of the Gotei was going to leave them open to attack or anything.

After a few more mouthfuls, she nodded back to Rubedo, remembering his question from earlier. ”We have Six Divisions. Leadership and Administration,” she started, counting up on her fingers, ”Covert Operations and Surveillance, Support and Recovery, Research and Development, the warriors of the Fifth, and Justice and Security. And yes, generally, we don’t talk much with your kind. Technically I should have avoided you, but there are a few old regulations that allow it and, since Anatoly poses a considerable threat to the Balance, it is acceptable for human spiritualists to be consulted with as a means of providing aid and stopping him. Someone commanding a legion of otherwise mindless Hollow like they were guard dogs or, worse, actually taking control of Shinigami and using us for whatever his plans may be could cause serious damage.”

Iggy knew how to make a good steak and seemed to be getting better each time they cooked out. Rubedo carefully cut into the juicy meat and took a savoring bite. “Delicious,” he commented.

It was always particular hearing about the Shinigami age as Nao didn’t seem to mind bringing up. He often wondered if they enjoyed their long life going through this Academy learning how to fight monsters and using “magic”. There was no rest for the wicked or the saying went on. They acted similarly to humans and each having their own personality yet it still baffled him that they were A O.K hunting anything against their ideology when they ascended to be gods of death.

Rubedo’s gaze shifted to the flickering flecks of the fire crackling through the night as his mind wandered until Nao spoke about the Gotei Six and each division. He nodded a few times as she explained the situation thankfully they weren't in an organization that would reprimand them just speaking with outsiders from another dimension unless one was dumb enough to betray them.

“What is the Balance to you, miss?” he said looking back to the Shinigami with a curious gaze. “Though I promise I won’t barrage you with any more questions,” he chuckled and continued. “ I’m sure you wish to head back and I am going to call it a night here soon.” the young man began to scarf down the food.

”The Balance means the same to me as it is to you. Without it, both of our worlds would be doomed,” she replied matter-of-factly as she cut up the last few bites to her steak. ”I wouldn’t worry about that being a problem, though. The last time there was any real threat of something like that happening was way before I was alive. People like Anatoly do pose an issue, though.”

Nao mused on the matter, sorting out her steak in order of tastiest looking bites in order to finish her meal on a crescendo. The man would likely need to be put down, but it might be possible to harness his power for good. Being able to bring forth a Zanpakuto spirit could prove an invaluable asset in the Academy and would no doubt assist Fourth Division greatly in their research. Yes, he presented a danger, but even in her lingering injured state, the academic in Nao knew that the man’s abilities warranted further contained study.

”I’d really rather not kill the man. Our Fifth Division will no doubt stick a target on his back, but I’d like to try to learn from him. If spiritually sensitive people like him could be persuaded to be more like you, then that would make all of our lives easier. For example, If I were to swing by one of our outposts, they would not have a meal this good waiting for me,” she said, smiling and holding her plate up appreciatively before taking another bite.

As she chewed, Nao thought about their aid. Sure, she was only a little distance off from her recovery point, but this wasn’t a bad arrangement. Human-run outposts could prove to be a better option than having only Shinigami staffing the field offices in the world of the living. It would be easier for them to stay up to date on current goings on, and they would be able to cast a wider net for threats like Anatoly. It was as she swallowed that she decided to go through with her idea.

”If you’d be willing to help us find him, I can see about arranging for one of our communication devices to be made available for you. They work a lot like a telephone, but they take up a lot less room and can be used without needing to be plugged into a wall,” she offered, showcasing her amazing knowledge of the technology of the mortal world, ”I’ll work it to have one sent to the post office in town for you. Just stop on in there in two days and we should have been able to drop it off. It’ll also let me pay you back for the meal the next time I’m on Earth. It might be a decade or two, but I’ll be sure to find someplace nice to take you as a way to show my thanks for helping, both tonight and any future aid you can provide about Anatoly.”

Ignatius watched her a moment, making sure not to let slip how idiotic he believed their entire keepers of the balance shit to be. They annoyed him to no end with that crap, but at the same time, he couldn’t deny that they were a necessary evil, in some ways. “Oh? Why do they pose an issue? Is it just because of the fact that he has a greater control of the spirit world, and spirits in general, than most do?” He tilted his head at her, as he cut a piece of the steak and ate it. “Apologies, but I’m not very well versed in much of the more nuanced aspects of the spirit world. Recently awakened to our abilities, if you will.”

His father would scold him for how much lying and fraternization with the Shinigami he was undergoing, at the moment, but to Ignatius it was all means to an end. He couldn’t let the fact that many of them had survived slip and she wasn’t doing anything, necessarily wrong. He smiled at her when she raised the plate. “I’m only saddened to hear that such a meal wouldn’t be ready for such a hard worker. After all, few can say that they survived an encounter with such an individual as relatively unscathed as you have. I can’t imagine what I’d even do, in such a situation. Run, probably.”

Yet it was what she said next that caught him by surprise, not only for the irony of the statement, but the fact that it was a shinigami that had brought it to the table. “Ah, well we’re humbled by the offer, but are you absolutely certain that you want such valuable technology going into the hands of such inexperienced men, such as us?” Ignatius ate some of the mashed potatoes and swallowed. “Not that I’m saying no, mind you, I just think that you would look for more…established spiritualists. It’s quite an honor, however and, if my friend here agrees, we would most certainly be receptive.” Ignatius looked to Rubedo, now hoping that the man wouldn’t say something foolish.

Rubedo sighed internally. He tried to pickaxe at what the Shinigami thought of their Balance, though on his part he probably failed the juicy questions, and the idealism just didn’t seem to flow; they were caught up with warning them about fifth squad hound dogs and dangerous humans. It was no loss though. He listened and gleamed what little she was willing to give on her views and he didn’t try to challenge her on them, he simply nodded and let it go.

He was quite enjoying the steak until the Shinigami brought up another matter: sharing communication with their technology. Rubedo could not help but blink a few times. Did he hear that right? She was willing to give them communication devices in exchange for their aid. Normally the Glaives in the past rarely shared a union after the Shinigami decided to wage war on them and murdered all the nobility. The Wagner family cut all ties and only wanted them to look after a princess now. Rubedo was in quite the pickle of decision, he looked to Iggy but he only seemed to be okay with it if he, too, was okay with it.

“We will help you locate Anatoly. Only if it can result in no bloodshed and he is properly brought in for justice if he is this much of a threat as you say he is.” Rubedo stood up, set his plate aside, and gave a proper, elegant, bow Ignatius would only get the hint he was doing the proper Glaives’ honor gesture. He knew Ignatius hated the Shinigami but they had been together since childhood and he always had Rubedo’s back. He also had a feeling that his friend was going to chew him out later.