♣♣ Hollows Eve ♣♣

3 years, that was the how long she's been at sea, away for so long it was like a dream come true to finally smell, breath and feel solid land underneath her feet. But her return was not for reasons of leisure. It was an emergency summon, so urgent that she had to come in person. 

She arrived early so she decided to visit Alfred first. Her job wasn't exactly a walk in the park, even though she was portraying a wanted criminal with possibly one of the highest bounty within the Soul Society Underworld, she had no time to fool around, there are dangerous  creatures, people with whom she work with. One wrong move can sabotage 3 years of undercover work and it has placed her in a state of constant stress.

Hollows Eve was the same as ever, it looks exactly the same way she first saw it upon leaving the comforts of the Minamoto household. The same smell of cigarette smoke and peppermint candies, the same dim lighting strange people of all races, walls that keep secrets, doors that lead everywhere, this was home to her.

But looking around, it seems that Alfred was not present at the moment, she wondered where he was. She let her self into the bar and fixed her self a Hollow vodka, Feel completely empty inside while you throw it all up.

Ishpaleum entered the bar calmly, wearing a casual light black jacket and white t-shirt. He wasn't usually the type to hide behind a disguise, but tonight he was on the hunt. As he entered, he looked around the room. No one in there was a normal human, he knew that much, but for once he wasn't there to hunt Arrancar or Hollows. Today, he was there for a much bigger prey.

The rumor had come through a reliable source, that the person with the highest bounty in the entire Soul Society was to be here tonight, after having vanished for three years. He had hoped that she would have disappeared for good, but his luck never held that way. He knew that if he didn't deal with it personally, things might deteriorate quickly, and he happened to like Alfred, the owner here, so he decided to try to deal with things quietly.

Spotting his target, he began moving to the bar, planning every possible scenario through his mind. He was prepared, and knew that no matter what victory would be his. If my luck holds, maybe I won't need to fight tonight.. He sat at the bar next to the girl with the dark hair, ordering the finest drink they had, though he doubted it would compare to the wine in his treasury. Still, he could not tip his hand yet, or reveal his identity. He turned to the girl, a smile on his face. "May I pay for your drink beautiful?"

Chuckling a little she turned to the person who sat next to her. He smelled of... authority, he was probably a shinigami even though he was dressed down, she had a theory that he had no idea who she was at all. But she played along, its been a while before she had any other human(normal) interaction without having the need to be in character. "I don't know can you?" she smiled back at him playfully, he had shinigami written all over his face, she should know, because she was one too, and shinigami rarely came here unless they were sent here or summoned here, or if they were like her, a member of the Minamoto clan. "I'll have the most expensive thing in the list Hibiki!" she ordered the stand in bartender. "This guy is paying!"

Ishpaleum widened his eyes at her response, a smile on his face. It had been a long time since he had been spoken to that way, like he was a normal human being, and he had to say that it felt good. He was sure that this was his target, but immediately he had taken a liking to her. I'll have a drink or two with her, then bring the girl in. No problem.

He pretended to freak out for a moment, laughing a bit with his hand on his neck. "Going straight for my throat huh?! I hope I have enough..." As he said so, he slid his hand into his pocket, withdrawing a handful of gold from his vault. He put it on the table, putting his best naive smile on. "This should cover me for the night, right Mr. Hibiki?" With that he turned back to the girl.

"So, what brings you down to Alfred's? Are you a Shinigami, Hollow, or something else entirely?" He had an air of mischief to his eyes. It had been a long time since he had played a game like this, hiding his identity. Usually, since he had died it had been the other way around, seeing as he could not even remember his own name. It was kind of nice to be on the other end for once. He extended his hand, laughing a bit. "So, since you've already made me turn my pockets out tonight, I'm hoping that was at least enough for your name?"

He was rich, that drink was more than half the salary a Gotei 13 Captain makes, she sipped her drink gleefully gesturing something to Hibiki to keep em coming. This stuff tasted like water to her, it's nothing like the ones found in the bark, or the ones her crew serves her during meals, this was sweet and tasted like baby formula. But she's already out here anyway, she might as well play.

"Actually I'm a pirate, a really bad pirate." she couldn't have said it any more clearer than that. "What you came to punish me?" It seemed like they were on the same page, but there was also the a missing equation, why couldt she have just told her she was a shinigami? Maybe it was because of the people in the pub, they were discreetly staring at them, all with cautious eyes and grumbling stomachs. "I'm Bucky, that's my wanted poster over there." she pointed over the wall behind the counter, and there it was, small with a picture of her and the bounty on her head.

Ishpaleum looked at the poster, then back to her, and instantly knew there was something wrong. He couldn't put his finger on it, but in the back of his mind he felt the same tingle he had felt when he had been alive. The one that warned him when something was off, and his guard needed to be raised. Things are not as they seemed... Still, he smiled to the girl who called herself Bucky, and let out a laugh.

"I'll tell you what, we'll see how the night goes, and if you behave I might let you get away without the handcuffs." He winked a bit at that, as he turned to the barkeep. She had motioned for him to keep them coming, despite the fact that she clearly was unaffected by what he was bringing. The only thing being drunk here is my gold... He suddenly became very aware of the people in the bar. Their eyes were fixated on the pair. It wasn't too surprising, given that they both would stand out in any place, but to remove them he cast a quick glare around the room. Any who knew him would know that to make a false breath would mean death faster than one could see.

"So Miss Bucky, you're a pirate huh? And what exactly do you steal?" He smiled as he gestured to the barkeep, slipping him another piece of gold and whispering to him, while simultaneously releasing an urn behind the bar of wine more powerful than anything back there. This should give her a bit of a shock... From his personal stock, this was wine of the gods. Considered priceless by the standards of mortals, he would be paying for his own drink tonight. Hopefully the girl would prove to be as interesting as he had hoped.

Just from the aroma her spine stood up, she knew this wine, it was the same Al had given her after graduating from the Shinigami Academy. It was then that she started blushing and drooling, it was that good, how did this person take hold of this? She had wanted one for so long yet she couldn't find one, and Al wouldnt tell her where to get it, she travelled the seas back and foth with hopes to get one of these bad boys but no, she had to drink pirate rum, and not the good kind. Wine aside she had sensed is awareness of the current situation at hand, if only she could tell him not to do that, what he's doing would only lure the worst kind of trouble, trouble she didn't want to face during her day off.

She cleared her throat. "Handcuffs? Pheh!" she laughed, "I would've come willingly with dog biscuits." try eating pirate food for 3 years and see if you wouldnt mind eating dirt. She took another shot and drunk. "How about you, what brought you here Mr. Handcuffs?"

He laughed, having a cup poured for himself. Her cheeks had turned a delicious shade of red and a hint of drool had appeared as she saw the wine. Clearly she had seen the drink before, which made him smile. Anyone who could appreciate wine like this was worth at least the time he was willing to give her. He indicated to the barkeep again, telling him that the urn was for the two of them. "I'm glad to see that you have good taste when it comes to drink."

She cleared her throat then, saying that she would have come along with dog treats, which made him grin. "Dog treats huh? I'm sure I can do better than that, although if that's your poison I'll be more than happy to oblige." He laughed after that, ordering a pair of steaks from the kitchen, where he sent two of his servants to replace the cooks. Both had been legendary heroes, who's cooking skills were highly enough regarded to please even the King of Heroes.

She asked what had brought him here, which made him hesitate for a moment before he responded. "I suspect you already know. I'm here to take you in, unless there's something you want to tell me." He took a drink of the wine, its powerful effects hitting him quickly, bringing a momentary blush to his cheeks before subsiding. "Of course, that can wait until we finish with the fun tonight. We've just met, and you're already the most interesting person I've encountered in over four thousand years."

He ordered his servants around to take control of the kitchen which made her laugh a bit, especially when Hibiki gave her a cup of that heavenly wine, she couldn't be more pleased. She wondered what Al would think of this once he got back, would he scold her for playing along this persons game? Like that one time when she stole apples from the 6th Division Captains yard? She was a grown woman yet Al still gets very protective of her. If she could only tell him about the situation she would've already, but this was not the place and time to reveal her true identity, especially when she wasn't too sure he was a friend or foe. "Wow, four thousand years huh? Well then i guess today is your lucky day."

It was almost midnight when one of her crew members busted into the door and interrupted what turned to be quite a lovely evening. He whispered something in her ear that made her complexion go pale. It seems they were being summoned earlier than expected, what would she do now, she didn't want to disappoint this person no matter how weird their sort of relationship was. "Duty calls hand cuffs." she took out the wanted poster from the wall and wrote something on it.

"Till we meet again, shinigami!

- Bucky D. Rose."

She handed some incredible amount of kan to Hibiki before storming out of the room with hopes that this person will get the idea that she knew he was a shinigami because he looked like one, especially inside a pub where only the bravest souls enter.

OOC: It turned out this way because there will be a plot thread soon, and we continue this story there lol. That summon will be from Suki I guess.

Ishpaleum stood up, debating on whether to give chase to the strange girl who had so quickly run from the bar. In the end, he decided against it; that feeling in his gut would not allow him to move forward. This is not the right course to take. With that, he snapped his fingers to return both the wine and his servants to his treasury, walking to the door.

As he arrived there, he looked around the room, red eyes examining the souls of the people gathered there. A few were still staring at him with a killing intent, which made him smile. He suspected that his walk home tonight would be very interesting after all...

-End-