By the pricking of my thumbs

"Now, shall we go over this one more time? Bear with me here. I need to speak to a shinigami. Preferably one of the captains."

The speaker sounded quite refined, and this was a stark contrast to the unidentified fluids that covered his body. His entire form was sleek, lithe, and there was only the slightest hint of a reptilian cast to his appearance, most notably in his long, hooked talons. Talons that were currently holding a plus in the air by the collar of their shirt. He held them with as much gentleness as one would hold an egg, and there was a sense of deeply strained patience coming from the being.

Not that anyone could tell, with the completely expressionless white mask on his face and the many rows of teeth that could be seen every time he spoke. He sounded composed, he sounded calm, but mostly he sounded very frustrated...not angry, not furious. Merely frustrated, as if he'd been kept waiting just a few minutes too long by someone he truly respected.

"Now, I've been quite reasonable up to now, I should think. I'm not an unreasonable man." He paused for a second, tilting his head as if mentally going over what he'd just said. "...I've never let it be said I'm an unreasonable man. And I'd like not to start now, if I can avoid it. Now, please fetch the shinigami for me."

The figure held in the hollow's hand kicked idly, his expression venomous. He'd been named the foreman of this particular district, and he took his job seriously; he was a solid man, a powerful man by most accounts. While he was no match for a shinigami, he was more than sufficient to keep a standard plus in line. His eyes met Yaksha's, and he tried his best to let any sign of trembling leave his voice as he spoke.

"I'm afraid I can't help. The shinigami don't answer my calls."

"Are you? How interesting. You didn't strike me as afraid."

He rose a hand ever so slowly, letting a ball of pale green energy form on his finger as he stared at them without the faintest hint of malice. He sounded almost...curious. Like a person trying their best to pick at a scab or solve an incredible mystery. He spoke again, and this time there was the faintest hint of something sinister there.

"Say it again, if you don't mind. Come on, one more time! I know you know the words. Say it with me now. 'I'm...' Please, don't make me get nasty over something so simple! Say it with me. 'I'm afraid I can't help.'"

As he spoke, he wove the finger through the air, leaving tiny green contrails through the air that the foreman's eyes followed with rapt attention. He gulped, tried his best to keep the tremble out of his voice. There were a few seconds of silence, uncomfortable silence where the being holding the foreman up seemed entirely content to wait.

"I'm afraid-"

"Wrong."

He lifted them up towards the sky, firing off a cero with incredible force. It slammed into the body, tearing apart the bonds of spirit particles with as much ease as a fist tore through wet tissue. It expanded outwards with incredible speed, large enough to be seen from districts away. And almost certainly from the Seireitei.

"I do so hope someone comes along soon who isn't afraid that they can't help me."

He threw what little remained of the body onto a nearby doorstep, and settled in. He was willing to wait as long as it took for a shinigami to arrive.

Alice was working on simple paperwork as a Hell Butterfly flew gently to her side. A report of a wild and strange Hollow up in the Seireitei. What a senescence. Well. It was troublesome enough to request the audience of a Captain. I suppose such a chore most be completed in a timely fashion... Captain Liddell thought to herself.

The chair she was sitting in pushed back and the lady rose to her feet. Her arms folded behind her back and her boots beat against the wooden floor to the door to her office. The door creaked open, and by the time the light would show into the room, the captain was already gone.

A phased in appearance of Captain Liddell came a few streets down from the suspected location of the Hollow. Her boots kicked up dust as she casually began to wonder towards the call location. Suddenly, a cero launched through the area, with quite a bit of power behind it. Truly, this would be an adventure... Alice quickened her pace towards what appeared to be a lizard-like Hollow creature, who was simply tossing the bits of a corpse to the side. How quaint.

Alice walked up, about 10 yards away from the thing. She worn a blue dress, that came to just below the knee, with a white apron on top of it. Upon her feet were knee high black boots. Hardly the appearance of any Shinigami, let alone a Captain class. Never the less she didn't attempt to pressures her presence. "You rang?" She asked, casually. Her arms were now folded in front of her chest and she seemed very relaxed for the situation at hand. The blood of the innocence that surrounded her seemed not matter in the least.

"Ah, lovely! Finally, some company worth having. It's been dreadfully boring, you know. All the time, the conversations are always the same. 'Please, no! Let me go! Don't hurt me!' It gets...tiring." He rose his voice to a falsetto pitch for a split second, and then let out a theatrical sigh. His hand rolled through the air, his eyes appraising her even as he continued with the goading act. The histrionics continued for several long moments, before he finally wound himself down.

"Now, let's see where to begin. You don't know me, and nor do I know you. That's to be expected. I've taken great pains not to have any interaction with your soul society to date. Or at least...none you'd notice. It's amazing what a man can get away with when no one wants to go looking."

He bowed deeply, further than anyone should've been able to. His own head scraped against the ground, and then he unfurled back to his full height, still oozing self-satisfaction. His voice held the slightest tinge of a Mediterranean accent to it, but mostly it just sounded educated. Very very educated. There was the slightest pause on the 'ess' sounds, as if he wanted to draw them out, but it was barely enough to notice.

"I'll make my stay short, and make my presence known in a way you likely won't enjoy hearing." He yawned theatrically, his mouth opening wide enough to be unsettling. He fanned air into the gaping maw for just a second, and then it clamped shut with enough force to shatter the silence.

"Have you been to the human world in the past...oh, decade? They have some lovely things. Amazing new technologies. Tivo is one of my favorites. I can spend days just enjoying Tivo. They of course, also have some incredible weapons. Simply...devious. Mustard gas. Sarin gas. Nuclear fission. Genetically modified bacterium. I swear, humans have turned killing into an art form."

"Now imagine if a human combined their boundless potential for creativity with a hollow's pure malicious intent. I don't think that's very good for anyone, least of all me."

Alice was a bit shocked at the intelligence of the Hollow before her. He also carried a familiar accent, as she herself had retained one from Britain. He made a.. Very deep bow... So much so he scuffed himself upon the dirt. Alice returned the gesture with a curtsy.

Alice listened to the Hollow's ideals, and placed a hand under her chin, thinking over such a situation, and the out comes. He was correct. No one would benefit such a thing. However Hollows weren't exactly welcome to the human world in the first place. Shinigami always put forth their best efforts to eliminate that sort of thing, but perhaps being a Hollow this one had a better plan to purpose.

Alice gave a short nod. "I agree. Do you have any plan to avoid such a dire thing? We already send out as many as we can to remove Hollow from the equation. As far as the disgusting humans, killing off the ones with these ideas isn't possible, as their data is available across the globe for another to pick up where they had dropped the ball."

Alice spoke ill of humans, unlike most Shinigami. She didn't value them in the least. To be honest, she didn't value anyone. She eyed up the Hollow in curiosity. He seemed willing to throw other Hollow under the bus as well. Interesting.

"And yet there are those who so callously and thoughtlessly abuse the right allotted to them by the world around them. You wish to believe you have kept a close watch on the hollow population, and that you've kept the situation under control. Perhaps then you'd be content to answer a question for me?"

He took a few steps forward, moving quite slowly at first. His movements were almost luxuriating, as if he were a panther on the prowl, stretching muscles that had lain in rest for far too long. Her eyes likely could've followed his movements easily...but before she could even see his feet hit the ground, there was a noise.

It was the white noise that the universe tried its very hardest never to tune into. It was a deafening crackle, one that seemed to sink beneath the skin and resonate with the very bones. It was the radio static that one heard in the worst of situations. And to a shinigami as powerful as Alice, it would've been easy to identify as a sonido. Still, the hollow moved with such ease and grace that it was hard to even tell where he was until a hand looped around, sliding over the length of her throat. It traced one of her arteries, and his voice was a deep, throaty whisper now. He almost sounded like he was in the throes of deep ecstasy as he spoke one last time.

"What is my name, shinigami? Surely if you have the hollow situation under control you'd at least know who I am. Think hard...and think as long as you need. I assure you, you have heard my name, even if you never thought you'd have to speak it. Somewhere in your reptilian forebrain, you recognize me. You feel it, don't you? Deja vu. You feel as if you've met me a dozen times before...so tell me my name, little shinigami."

Alice raised an eyebrow, seeming annoyed by the creature's assumptions. the thing began to move towards her, only at an average pace at first, but swiftly moved up to faster than a bullet. Alice easily followed the motions, and made a swift motion with her hand, at her side, but allowed the Hollow to wrap it's claws around her throat, not feeling quite threatened at the moment.

He hissed a whisper of a time before she would have known him. Apparently he was not aware of her. She slowly blinked before responding. Her face sat in a way known as "resting bitch". Her hand that moved ever so quickly moved at the wrist, pressing her small Zanpakuto onto the creatures inner thigh. A vital area. The press was not enough to do damage, but enough so the Hollow was aware. The thought of violence excited Alice. A grin cracked across half of her still face.

"I never said it was under control, you silly creature. I meant we send out as many troops as we can spare. As for your name... " A cruel smile was now all they way across her face. "I guess I couldn't care less."

Yaksha's leg lifted off the ground, coiling around her waist bonelessly, and his claws continued to slide down her throat. His touches were gentle, ever-so-careful, and his voice was still filled with an almost unfathomable glee. "That right there...that aloof expression, that contrary nature. Oh yes, you're exactly the sort I've been hoping to meet. You know, shinigami are often so stuffy...so obsessed with tradition and order. There's just no room to live in a place like this. That's why I prefer to stay in the human world."

He pirouetted about her form, on his knees in front of her in a blur of white and a low, hissing chuckle. He let his head rest on the ground for just a few seconds, his green hair flowing down around his head and hiding view of his face as he muttered once more. "You know, I've spent a lot of my time on the fringes. Hanging in the shadows. And it's so very...frustrating, to hear those words cross your lips. If you don't care, then I'll simply have to make you care, one way or another. I've already come here to give you an opportunity to help, but if you don't want to take it..."

He rose slowly, with the same languid grace as before. There was a predatory gleam in his eyes, but it was squashed by a truly incredible amount of self-control. No hollow could possibly be this regimented, this organized...and yet he was.

"Can we please stop with the petty bullshit and the dick-measuring? I know you care, and you know I need your help. Let's move on to the fun part." He paused for just a second, his tongue escaping from his mouth as he smirked at her. His voice never changed even a single octave as he spoke again.

"I could show you pleasures the shinigami never even knew existed. I could give you anything you wish in this world. But first...let's talk shop."

He spoke of making her care, and that further inflamed Alice's blood lust. She held her blade as so the dull end was along her forearm, and the sharp side was out, ready to satisfy her lusts. It was not held out, as most blade wielders handled their weapons.

The Hollow asked for an end to the mutual "tough guy contest". Slowly Alice calmed her inner blood lust and her face returned to neutral. She slid her Zanpakuto back into the holster on her upper thigh. She dusted off her dress with both hands and then placed them on her hips. She let out a sigh and relaxed to the degree she could while conversing with a Hollow. She crossed her arms behind her back and began to rock from heel to toe, over and over, focusing n the words of the lizard creature.

Her eyebrow raised as he spoke of some mystery pleasures and odd promise to give her anything she desired. How queer. She had no idea what that could possibly mean. His offer ended with a request to... Shop? "Shop? What exactly are you looking for?" It surely had to be something inside the gotei walls, or else he would not request her assistance.

"Why, for you my dear! What else would I look for if not someone as entertaining as a captain of the Seireitei." He spoke with absolute poise, as if there wasn't a doubt in the world that she was a captain; after all, she'd been able to keep up with his speed, however clumsily...and she seemed not even slightly concerned by his presence. The gall! The sangfroid! It sent shivers down his spine.

"You send your soldiers out to do their duties, but I think we both know they're hopelessly in over their heads. You seem to have no qualms with violence...in fact, if I were any judge, I'd think you enjoy it. You wouldn't happen to be Captain of the 11th, would you?"

He tilted his head just slightly, tapping a claw against his chin. "Oh yes, that's right...hollows aren't supposed to know about things like the Gotei 13, are we? We're all just nasty little gnats, flitting around and annoying you. However could a hollow find time to care about something as spectacular as the inner workings of the soul society?" His voice was clearly contemplative, but there was an obviously mocking tone to it as well; clearly he had little to no respect for the topic he was speaking on. Or perhaps for Alice herself.

"If you want to know what I'm looking for, might I advise you come with me? There will be others arriving soon, and I rather hate the idea of turning things messy...messier." He glanced around at the charred ground and the mangled corpses as he spoke, sounding almost sheepish.

"...Well, you can't judge a man for what he gets up to while he's waiting on his host, can you?"

Alice snickered at the remark of her possibly being the 11th Captain. A spot noted for violence and sadism. Her face returned to neutral as he went on about how most assumed all Hollow were mindless scavengers. To be honest, he was the first to be other wise, so she didn't think the opinion should be so shunned. His tone was taunting, and Alice did not take well to disrespect. Her eyes narrowed.

He then requested her to join him off somewhere, and made note of the... mess. If it was any other Shinigami, such a thing would not be tolerated, alas... Captain Liddell had no empathy for the corpses that pained the street around them. Useless souls that were of no use to anyone, in her opinion. She cared not for their death or sufferings.

Her eyes were almost to calm as they traced along the mangled bodies. "I could care less. It isn't like they were of any use... As for where I captain, I run the 6th. Internal affairs. My lack of empathy makes it easy to judge other Shinigami without bias, and I could easily carry out... Certain punishments without waiver."

She let out a an exaggerated sigh and waved the lizard on with her hand, like she was batting away a fly, motioning for him to start the venture to where ever he had in mind. Any Shinigami with a sound mind would never do this just like that. going off with an enemy to an unknown location sounded like a trap to anyone. Alice didn't care. If it was a trap, it meant blood would be spilled, which was a win to her, and if it was as the creature claimed it would be some odd adventure. Still a win for her. There was a reason no one liked to be partnered with her on missions. Even her own subordinates saw it as a great danger.

Yaksha rolled his eyes, letting out another grunt of frustration. While it was indeed useful to have the attention of such an influential captain, it would do him no good if they were like all the others. He could sense it on her...he could tell that she was trying to dismiss his every act, dismiss his very existence. She was frustrated, no doubt. But what right did this brazen bitch have to be frustrated when she was a goddamn captain of the organization that run the goddamn world!?

He'd suffered through so very much, more than she could possibly fathom. He could've told her stories for days about the atrocities he'd seen...and the struggle he'd undergone to get here, at this moment. And she wouldn't care. She'd stare at him with those cold, distant eyes, just like all the others. She'd dismiss his wrongs with the merest flick of a wrist, and it all would've been for naught. Just as it had always been.

He bared his teeth slowly, contemplating jamming them into her throat. Or her collarbone. He could almost feel the hot, salty spray of arterial blood...and then the stabbing pain and the blackness of death. No, even in his wildest dreams he couldn't imagine taking down someone like this without dying himself. He had to simply grin and bear it, as terrible as that was to him. He'd prefer to be alive than be vindicated.

He slid a hand through the air, tearing into it slowly, with incredible focus. The sky itself seemed to reel away from his hand, forming a purple-and-black bruise in the middle of the air. He breathed another sigh, and as his breath rolled over the area it began to spread wider and wider, until it was eventually large enough to carry two people with ease. Yaksha held his arm out with an almost absurd level of politeness, his tone jovial.

"If you wouldn't mind joining me, madame? The least I can do to make up for disturbing your day is to make this as enjoyable an experience as I can."

"I was just up to paperwork, anyways." She responds, her voice distant as she was focused on the gaping hole that was now formed in this world.

Alice looked at the slashed open portal. It was a familiar dark path that ended with the human world. She assumed from the speeds the Hollow had already displayed that this trip would be a breeze for him as well, she didn't even look over her shoulder as she shunpoed through the filler space between them and the World of Humans. The darkness ended with an only sightly brighter light as night had already fallen for the Humans.

She took in a breath of air as she looked up at the star filled sky. A crescent moon dimly lit the night, while a freezing breeze made the Shinigami's hair dance and her dress flutter. Luckily her hem was weighted enough to stay civil and in case she always wore bloomers. It was late into fall, and the nights had grown cold. Alice released the air from her lungs, releasing a stream of steam from her soft pink lips.

She awaited for the Hollow to exit, and looked down on the lit up cities of Humans, completely unaware of what would be come of them after death. Unaware of the secret wars that surrounded them at all times. What could the humans have possibly made that had the interest of a Hollow?

"Now that's just insulting! I was trying to be a gentleman! You know, the humans say chivalry is dead. I shouldn't wonder who killed it." He appeared next to her with an almost lackadaisical grace, his hand stitching the maw shut with surprising simplicity. He waved a hand to encompass all of the individuals around, his eyes glittering. "I'm quite certain I'll guess your response, but...do you even understand just what you're seeing here? The pure, unadulterated agency? Perhaps they do move in foolish ways, to those who know what we do. But they do it with such...intent."

He sighed again, folding his clawed hands over his chest. His voice was growing deep, thoughtful. And there was something there...perhaps a touch of sadness? Yes, almost certainly. The hollow, the beast that subsisted on the souls of the angry dead, sounded sad. Truly sad, for the world around him. Without a trace of self-indulgence.

"I don't expect you'd understand, shinigami. You've made your viewpoint achingly clear. You find no room in your heart for motivation of any sort. You live a life of cold facts and absolute certainties. I don't expect you to understand the purpose of romanticism." He turned to her, his lips turned up in the faintest hint of what might have been a reluctant smile.

"Still. Perhaps you'd humor me for just a moment? It takes two to tango. Business is important, but not quite so important as life. Dance with me, shinigami. There is much to cover, and so very little time...but there's always time for a dance."

Alice raised an eyebrow, to test the Hollow's seriousness, but it seemed it was indeed. As all ladies in the 18th century that resided in London she knew how to dance, but probably had not done in since that time. Even then she had done it rarely due to her status of a maid... And then of someone in an asylum. She wasn't repulsed by the idea, but she was quite rusty.

She raised a hand in front of her lips and cleared her throat, before patting down her dress and placing a hand behind the back of the Lizard and sliding her other small hand into the clutches of the Hollow's claws. She looked up at the creatures face, with a neural gaze. She waited for his lead, as it had been so long since her last dance.

"I am fascinated enough by this quest to humor you. If there is one thing I was sad to see go from my time as a human it would be a good ball. Not so much for the romance and suddenly married off couples who had just met, as much as for the culture and music." She explained with honesty. "I couldn't miss much else from them as a maid and not someone of high enough class to enjoy the fine foods and looks from wealthy men."

Her mind returned to fogged memories of such events. The maids who did return the glances of those high class men were left with nothing but bastard children and heartbreak. The fools. Alice was never interested in such things. The idea of raises status from the love of a rich man was a myth to maids. As were elegant gowns and being asked to dance at a ball. Now Alice had many beautiful dresses and was of very high status, and she was sure none of the women who were looked at so highly in life ever reached much of anything after death.

"Oh please. I found balls to be one of the stuffiest occurrences of all time. Such potential...wasted on people with no soul. Quite literally, in some cases. Some of them were simply Gikongan. And had as much ability to carry a tune as a wild animal. It's quite honestly depressing."

He held out a hand gently coiling it around her waist...and his other one slid out with a speed on par with a striking snake. He sprung into action, before she could even truly realize what was going on, cavorting across thin air with as much ease as one would simply climb a flight of stairs. His movements weren't coordinated, weren't classy...but they were performed with such speed and such poise that it was hard to tell at first.

He cavorted about with her in toe, his hand squeezing her hip ever so gently every time he intended to perform something complex. He ducked and dove and weaved, his movements filled with a pure, almost animalistic need. It was something that went beyond words, was a purest expression of desire and intent. He didn't seem to show any sign of slowing as he shuffled about, completely unlike the balls of the past. This was a wild twirling dance of electric need, of pure wordless want. As it ended, Yaksha buried his other hand in her hair, his mouth open wide. His teeth were bared, and his eyes were flushed with what could only be called lust.

"...Thank you, Shinigami. It's been far too long since I could be as open as this. Far too long on the fringes. I almost forgot who I was at times. But now, I remember all too clearly. And just what it is I need."

Alice gasped at the sudden shooting off of the Hollow. This surely was not any dance she had ever taken part of! He dipped and dove, moving all over the place. Alice let him lead on, and struggled to follow the random steps. Mostly she was drug along, and confused.

The Lizard thanked her for his random out burst, and said it filled him with life. Alice just scratched the back of her head, not sure what to make of what just happened. "So what were you going on about a wish earlier? What do you mean?" She had dropped the hand from her hair and placed it under her chin, very curious. Was he a genie, or a Jinn? That made all the difference in wish making.

Yaksha sighed, his hands folding over his chest. He stared at her, his expression growing almost amused now. He began to circle her, almost appearing to appraise her...his eyes peeled away at her second by second, trying to get to the woman beneath. She'd said she was a maid, and one from Britain if he was any judge. The voice was just too familiar, seemed to ring just the right bells...and it told him very nearly nothing about her.

"I am not some mythical creature, before you ask. I'm no greater than any captain of your soul society, but there are certain...skills I have at my disposal. I have been at this for a very long time, and you don't get as old as me without picking up a few tricks. I'm certain there's something in this world you want...and I should like to know what it is."

He let out a low, throaty chuckle...one that still rung with the clinging vestiges of lust. Now that he was getting a better look at her, or perhaps now that she was asking the kinds of questions he liked...yes, he could see the appeal. He could have all sorts of fun with this one, if he had enough time. For now, he just needed to make a strong first impression...and that meant he'd need to play this delicately.

"You say you remember your time as a human. I take it then that you haven't been a shinigami for long? Time dulls the blade of memory all too easily. But perhaps you'd like to have it back? And have a proper shot this time? I could get you a new life...a new body, a new name, a new face. A proper life, this time. This time you could look down on everyone you please."

Alice rolled her eyes as the creature made a suggestion. "Certainly not." She replied, her voice filled with disgust at the mere thought. With all the power and status she will have for hundred of years in death, a few as a human would never do.

She looked down and dusted off her dress. "Ah, well. On with this mysterious mission then." Her face did show a tad of disappointment, but she folded her arms and seemed some what interested in where this whole ordeal lead.

Her eyes looked around the area, confused on what they could possibly be fetching in a place like this. Time was wasting, and only a few more hours stood between them and dawn. Not that the humans moving around would matter, but Alice saw them as an annoyance, and she would lose interest due to her inner want to gut them and make decorations from their intestines. The gotei didn't like her on missions in the human world unless necessary, to say the least.

Yaksha laughed, loud and free. It was clear that the woman was enjoying her time in the soul society, and likely wanted nothing to do with humans. Yaksha couldn't say he agreed...he hated hollows about as much as she seemed to hate mortals, and he wasn't afraid to admit it. There was just no room in his universe for people who couldn't stop to think about what they were truly saying or asking. And yet even now she was trying her best to back away.

"Certainly not! The humans call this a stakeout, and we'll likely need at least a good couple minutes until what we're waiting for happens. Sit, talk. When the time comes, you'll know. Then we'll have some business to discuss." He walked towards the roof of the nearby building, sitting on it and letting his legs dangle over. He kicked the air just slightly a few times, his voice still whimsical.

"So you don't want a life of wine and revelry. That's perfectly fine. Perhaps knowledge, then? I know secrets that would singe your ears off. I could even tell you the names of quite a few shinigami that have evaded your division's attention for quite some time. You'd be surprised the kinds of things a man of my skills can find out with the right circumstances and the right tools."

He leered at her, grinning in a way that made it quite clear he would've liked to add Alice to the list of tools he had at his disposal.

Alice sighed and threw her back against the near by brick building that the creature now hung his feet off the edge of. She folded her arms and leaned on the chilled surface, and the night did have a chill to it. She was not a patient woman, and was starting to wonder if they were on a wild goose chase that this suspicious Hollow came up with on a whim.

What on earth could see us that we need to wait around? I think we can walk in and be fine. Also, you have yet to tell me what it could possibly be that we are doing in a place like this. Her annoyance flavored the words that she spoke.

Her eyebrow raised as the Hollow had a new offer for her. She listened patiently, but her face never brightened with enthusiasm. "Without the rebels it wouldn't be any fun." She kicks off the wall and grips the chain link fence that stood between them and this mysterious place that they awaited for something... or someone. Her boots beat on the cold road as she dragged her nails along the frozen metal, letting it make a notable amount of noise.