Hillview Apartments :: Golden Hall Hillview Apartments isn't the most impressive of apartment buildings, but what it does supply is a splendid view for a reasonable price. Most of the apartments, due to the magical construction of the building, all tend to provide views down the hill. You can see the village, the parade grounds, the land away from Golden Hall. For that, the building is splendid, although the process of actually getting a room here can be quite the trial. The rooms are mostly the same, despite whichever floor you're on; none of them are all that large, but they do provide everything one should want out of an apartment. Obvious exits: Apt. 3B <3B> Apt. 4B <4B> Apt. 5B <5B> Out It's been an, um. Interesting set of weeks. Months? It's hard to tell any more, the time blurs together so. His hair's grown longer since coming here, but he hasn't really had time to have it cut and can only keep it back in a short tail, especially in these very interesting times since the last time he's encountered Rukia. For one thing, he somehow seems to have become a magnet for undead and zombie types. If he doesn't take care of them quickly, the guard usually does, but it's gotten so that every time he so much as pokes his nose outside of the gates, a Hollow-kind of thing is sure to show up at some point. At first he shunned the opportunity, unnerved by the strange feel of the acquired spiritrons dragged through the soul that acts as his 'fuse.' As he gradually becomes forced to use them, though, he becomes slowly more accustomed to it. Never fully--he still gets slightly sick whenever he has to use them for too long--but he no longer gets waves of nausea or disgust when forming his bow. So, when yet another Hollow stomps and flails over the buildings, Ishida hardly pauses. Despite still being in the shower. Rushing out of his apartment with a towel clutched awkwardly around his waist, he takes a look at the situation--Hollow, in the courtyard, headed for an unaware grandmother sweeping the yard--looks around for witnesses, and, finding none, sighs and holds his hand out. The Quincy cross drops, and the bow forms, collected from the very air. It blazes into life with just a thought as he draws a spirit-arrow back to his ear and looses at the Hollow. The arrow sizzles through the air and splits the mask, obliterating it into wisps of oily blackness. A small and easy one. It's a little odd how quickly he's gotten used to the routine already again. The bow flickering out of sight, he lets the Quincy cross dangle from his wrist again and looks around quickly before hiking up the towel again and turning to scurry back inside. No one was around to witness the attack... but that doesn't exactly mean no one was around. Rukia was just a little slow in showing up. Well aware of Ishida's powerful reiatsu, she stayed far enough away so she could be reasonably sure he wouldn't detect her power... particularly because she was holding it in, not exerting her abilities in any way. No one else is noticing her either, because this day she's present as a Shinigami. When Rukia feels the presence of her minion vanish, she steps into action, bounding up over a wall and heading for the site of the battle. When one has the ability to grasp spirits, one can do all kinds of things with them. Like, say, offer a ghost the opportunity to live again by uniting the soul with a fresh corpse. For a small service, of course. Go to this place where her enemy is, and take care of him. Similar bargains can be struck with lesser Hollows, those she defeats handily but doesn't put to rest. Not that Ishida's her enemy... but she doesn't want to explain that particular relationship to a creature little more than a pawn after all. She CERTAINLY doesn't want to explain it to a creature she's sent knowing it will fail. It doesn't take her long to reach the battle site, especially since she was close to begin with and just waiting for the release of spirit energy as a signal. "I see I'm too late." she states, a spirit equally transparent to the oblivious grandmother as that Hollow was. "You always were sqift to deal with a Hollow." she admits, grudgingly. It's right about this time that Rukia realizes Ishida's wearing nothing more than a towel. And his ubiquitous glasses, of course. He certainly wasn't expecting to hear /her/ voice here, of all places. Did she even know where he lived? --oh right, he did give her the address at one point or another. Probably for those clothes she ordered. "Ruki--Kuchiki-san! What are you doing here?" He whirls to face her, brows drawing down a touch. "For that matter, where have you been? There seems to have been a sudden influx of both Hollows and undead, and so far as I can tell, I've been the only one dealing with it--at least, the Hollows. The undead are sometimes taken care of by the acolytes and the guards." Realizing just how perilously he came close to saying 'You should have been there, you're a shinigami, it's your job,' he quickly shuts his mouth and adjusts his glasses uncomfortably for lack of a better way to take back what he just said. Just what, though, is swiftly forgotten as he realizes that, lacking any better words to describe it, he's mostly naked in front of a girl. Er. Now, he's had girls mostly (or all, in the case of Yoruichi) naked in front of him, but somehow it's different when he's the one mostly in the nude. "...um." Suddenly beet-red--it wasn't even a flush, just instantaneous red- -he edges back toward his apartment. "Excuse m--" The tail end of the apology is muffled as he shuts the door hastily before him. A few minutes later--provided she doesn't decide to make her own way in-- he'll open the door again, clothed hastily in a white button-down shirt and some white pants, towel on head. He's attempting to keep a straight face, but something about the line of his mouth suggests rigidly held-back embarrassment. "What did you want?" Something in Rukia's face might suggest trouble for Ishida. She's not embarassed. She does avert her eyes, acutely aware of the shame of others, but doesn't flame red or anything like that. No, it's his words that annoy her. That little tic at her temple might suggest it really, when he implies she hasn't been fighting Hollows. Oh she's been fighting them. She's just... been releasing the little ones again. Like a fisherman. Any Hollow she finds that she knows she can dominate with her own power, she redirects. So in a way, Ishida's fighting two people's worth of Hollows... but at least he's spared some of the larger ones she doesn't dare try to bargain with at this time. When he shuts the door in her face, Rukia splutters and fumes a bit, cut off before she could begin a tirade. Then, realizing no one's likely to hear her besides Ishida, she shrugs and vents some steam. "I've been busy! It's not just this city that has Hollows, you know!" she bellows. A very loud, impressive voice... for someone so tiny. "And I was TRYING to catch this one!" she lies. Okay, that's better. She's vented. When the door's open again, Rukia's sitting comfortably on a nearby wall, feet kicking idly, no trace of anger on her face whatsoever. Ishida seems all but forgotten, at least until he came out. "I didn't come here for you, Ishida-kun." she claims cheerfully, lying again. "I was out hunting." She's wearing Shinigami-skin rather than her gigai, backing up her words. "But it's true, now that you've mentioned it. I've seen a lot more Hollows and other such creatures lately than normal." Mostly because she's been seeking them out. Ahem. "I wonder what's got them so worked up? It's not just here, you know. Middleton's troubled as well. I hear Promethia is as well, though I've never been there..." All true, so far as she knows. Ignorance is bliss, as the saying goes. Or really, in the case, ignorance is irritation--for without that knowledge, he can only assume the overflow is because she hasn't been around to do her job. Or maybe wasn't around, which is admittedly another thought he's had; although the occasional flashes of her reiatsu, far in the distance, has given him the assurance that she wasn't really /gone/ gone. Just... not around. He studiously refuses to answer while she's shouting outside of his house-- maybe because he knows the neighbors can hear him, maybe because he doesn't care to shout loud enough to get through the (admittedly somewhat thin plaster) walls of the apartment. When he opens the door again, his expression is determinedly sober, though the towel on it rather ruins the effect. "Well. I haven't seen you around, and only could draw upon my greater experience in encountering the Hollows... so I didn't know if you'd suddenly decided to slack." Squeezing out a bit more water with the towel, he finally drapes it around his neck and looks at her, a little more charitable now that he has something of an explanation. "Maybe it has something to do with the death of Thunderbird? Delayed effects, perhaps?" he posits, putting a finger to his lips and looking upward in thought. "Or something else is happening..." And this time, he says it without the undercurrent of frustration and fear that might have once been in his voice. This time, he actually has the ability to do something--even if it may still be somewhat limited, or somehow /off/ still, it's nevertheless something. Power is insidious like that. "I'm surprised this many rise around the Hall. It's such a happy place, you would think there wouldn't be that much unfinished business in the deaths that do happen." Rukia shrugs in reply. "Many of them were no doubt first formed when Thunderbird crashed, creating the seas." she notes. "Not from here exactly, but drawn here... Perhaps it is the happiness which draws them." she theorises. It's complete BS of course... she knows what brings them here. But for a time, she pushes that knowledge entirely aside. "Surely you know enough about Hollows?" she suggests. Don't make her pull out the paper and crayons! "They seek to fill their emptiness. Perhaps this place draws them. Perhaps it's tasty somehow. Or perhaps it's simply the Gods of this world playing their Game. There is a god driving the undead here after all... but you'd have to ask a priest about such things." she suggests. After all, she's just a shinigami. Clever, fairly experienced and knowledgeable regarding Hollows, but much less so when it comes to this world. "When I first came here, there were no Hollows. Then they began to slowly appear, perhaps in answer to the shinigami who appeared. I can tell you it was unpleasant, having Hollows around when I was all but powerless." Just a tasty snack for a Hollow, really. One that could fight, but not do enough damage to destroy a Hollow. Rukia pauses, looks at Ishida, considers. "But I suppose I need not tell you about such things." she reflects. Ishida surely knows what it's like to have a strong spirit signature and yet be defenseless. Tactfully, Rukia says no more on this point unless invited to. Instead, she changes the subject. Slightly. "And you, Ishida-kun? How have things been with you?" "Given the quick death-rebirth cycle, though, I am surprised that they do not simply wait for their bodies to be reborn. Or maybe there's simply a greater number of permanent deaths occurring." His nose wrinkles slightly. "It's difficult to tell without any hard statistics on the issue. Perhaps I should go research that, if the Hall even keeps records of such things." One would hope so, but, well... this isn't exactly a modern city, with the bureaucracy and the endless recording that comes with it. "But to come to the Hall specifically? I mean, yes, there's a higher concentration of spiritually-powerful people than I've seen anywhere except for Soul Society, but the population of the other cities is larger. I think. Well, at least the other two main cities seem to be more populous, from what I've heard. ... but really, it's all speculation without any further knowledge. Unless you have any." He sighs, appearing slightly frustrated. The next moment, though, the expression vanishes, and he looks soberly at her for a moment, before looking away. "Kuchiki-san, I..." ...well. This is hard. "... thank you. I still--don't think that was the best way to do it, and it still feels..." Unconsciously, his left hand rises to wrap around his right wrist. "--odd. But I don't know if I would have been able to survive the rise in Hollows and spirits--or it would have taken longer, and they might have hurt someone else." That was /very/ hard, indeed, but he's always been bad about swallowing his pride. "I just feel like there ought to have been some other way, maybe. It's not the same." Which isn't exactly answering her innocent question, but, on the other hand, perhaps answers it better than any direct answer could have. Rukia frowns slightly. "I don't know. I think it's rising in all cities... but I've only been here and Bluefinger and Middleton lately." she suggests. Certainly her spy network, consisting of spirits, suggests it's true. Spirits may be relatively constant, but the number of them becoming Hollows or similar has been on the rise. Middleton could use a Shinigami, certainly. If Rukia were her normal self, she might even consider a residence there. But she's not, and they can deal with their own problems so long as she doesn't actually need their help in return. Of course, some of that rise in spirit activity is directly because of Rukia's intervention - and some because of her current master, Dracula - perhaps putting such things aside would mean spirit activity would return to normal, perhaps not. When Ishida makes his confession and offers his thanks, Rukia listens carefully, a mask of intent across her features. It's been a very long time since anyone's ever actually thanked her. Not since Shiba Kaien thanked her for killing him, and that hardly counts. Only Ichigo that one time, when he finally said he was glad Rukia had given him the means to fight his mother's killer. Before that... slim times and slim thanks indeed. It mellows her, and makes her uncomfortable at the same time, so she tries very hard not to show what she's feeling. Finally though, when he finishes, she nods. She's still trying to hide her discomfort at his words. "I didn't expect that." she finally confesses. Meaning the spirit, but probably also meaning the thanks. "The fusion... wasn't what I'd had in mind." Okay, that wasn't exactly what she'd wanted to say either. It came out entirely too sympathetic, and so she corrects herself with a scowl. "It's not like I've got experience in this sort of thing! Ichigo doesn't count! And they didn't train us for this sort of spirit work. Only forbade us from taking... certain measures." Like sticking a zanpakuto into a mortal's chest and transferring power to them. Yeah. "Well... to be honest, I was rather angry for a while. And rather upset." He rubs the back of his neck in a slightly embarrassed fashion, looking off to the side. "But I would have been hard-put to deal with anything that came my way, even with... some other tricks." Small and meager ones, though, although probably enough to deal with low-class Hollows. The sudden bristling of Tiny!Spiky!Shinigami is taken in stride--having dealt with her and Ichigo long enough (they really were very alike, in many ways), it's hardly a surprise. Besides, if he's so uncomfortable giving thanks, it seems only natural to him that she might be uncomfortable accepting thanks. "Like using a soul to replace a bit of someone else?" he suggests dryly, then quickly shakes his head. He did just thank her for it, and she did just admit that it didn't turn out exactly like she'd intended. But still, he doesn't quite take it back--at least not verbally. His thin shoulders do relax, though--fractionally, but perhaps enough for someone of her observational ability to notice. Moving on to the subject of rising spirit activity, though, he frowns faintly, running a hand through his hair. "How are the other cities handling it, do you know? I wonder if it's possible to train more Shinigami..." The words twist his mouth, and he grimaces faintly, but admittedly--the Quincy power is no help here, given as it's passed down by blood, and he certainly has no desire to start breeding at large scales. Even were it possible to breed here. The Shinigami power is a little more egalitarian in that a lot of people could have it, and if they could be trained... A Dream-wide death god network. Heh. And he's /suggesting/ it. But it does seem the only really viable way to deal with it, even if he's not suggesting it in so many words. "So far as I know, that's not technically forbidden." claims Rukia wryly. If only because no one would have foreseen the need to use a soul in such a way. Manipulating soul-fragments is certainly not against the rules, the technical division does so all the time. But there's no doubt in her mind... she'd face death for what she had just done for Ishida. Strictly forbidden or not, it went against the ways of the shinigami without a doubt, though it may well be entirely unprecedented. Rukia gives Ishida a strange look though, when he makes his suggestion. "It could be done." she admits. "As I did with Ichigo, making him a Shinigami." Ah, now there's something worth reminiscing over. Her own foolish desperate actions... But she shakes her head. Reminiscing can come later. "But you must realize, I was condemned to death fordoing so. To give Shinigami power to a mortal is strictly forbidden. One doing so, like I did, trades ones life in the exchange. Whatever else might have been irregular with my sentencing, I could not argue the rightness of the judgement. I was willing to accept death as the cost of what I'd done..." but again, she shakes her head, looking irritated. "I won't do that here though. Even assuming it'd work... never again." Not for people she doesn't know, for people she cares nothing for. She can barely remember her foolish reasons for doing it for Ichigo really... whether or not she'd do it again for him though, that's the interesting question. And one she's not sure she'd be able to answer, Night Heron's influence or no. A distinction that Ishida can easily pick up on, and he shakes his head again, but says nothing more. Instead, he nods slowly to the matter of making more shinigami. "Well, I wasn't thinking exactly the way that Kurosaki was made..." he disclaims, waving a hand. The fact that they're talking about all this while still standing in the doorway of his apartment seems to escape him; it's probably impolite to just stand there and not invite her in, or something, but that's gone right over his head. Whether she cares is another matter. "But there are some souls that get pulled here when dead, right? Wouldn't that be the same as... say, Soul Society? Or isn't this place pretty much like Soul Society, anyway? There's death, but then there's /permanent/ death, and people can still die in the Society." Which she should be well aware of, so he doesn't pursue that any further, perhaps suddenly a little embarrassed by bringing it up. "Likely the only thing to really know is to try. But that is nothing I can do." He suddenly yawns, then catches himself and covers his mouth, looking a mite surprised. "Sorry. I didn't expect to be so tired..." "I suppose that's possible..." Rukia muses. Though admittedly, if the Gods meant to pull dead souls over to fight the rise of undead, they'd just pull dreaming Shinigami. But who is she to know what the local Gods think? "Either way, it's not likely to be a short-term situation. I've met Griffon Vulture's priest. Perhaps he'd have something more to say about this sort of thing." Perhaps. And perhaps, considering all the stuff Rukia's been doing, she'd be incredibly wise to keep well away from Griffin Vulture's people. They were psychotic enough BEFORE she started animating the dead. "And yes. This world is very much like Soul Society." she adds, almost absently. Either you have power, or you're dragged through the gutter. Eyeing Ishida's yawn, Rukia nods. "Go to sleep, Ishida-kun." she urges. "No Hollows will get past me. I can't promise to be able to help you with your... with what I did, with correcting it..." she shrugs, smiles slightly. "Hollows though, that I'm an expert at. Perhaps if something comes up, if you'd trust my judgement enough to try again..." her smile falters. Trust. No, all of a sudden she doesn't want to face that issue. Doesn't want to see the cost written in Ishida's face. She'll look to Chad first. Maybe after, she'll see about aiding Ishida. And maybe betraying him as well. "No... forget it. I'll keep my eyes open, but better if any solution doesn't come from my own experimentation." she claims, averting her eyes. Without waiting for a reply, she turns to head away, to let Ishida get to sleep... and to not notice if he shows scorn for whatever trust he might still have of her. The offer of aid, however hesitantly offered and suddenly retracted, surprises Ishida enough that he just stares at her for a few moments, only recovering from it after she's turned away and started walking off. "Kuchiki- san..." He doesn't quite know what to say, to be honest. But she appears to be sincere about the offer to want to help? "Any help that can be offered... I would --" Not be grateful, he's used that already and doesn't want to repeat it, but... "--appreciate it." Especially since it was a situation of her own making, it only makes sense to him that she works to repair it, too. Rest assured that he's going to be looking for his own way out of it, too. "Anything that can be thought of might be useful. So..." But he really is tired, and he's almost talking to himself now, what with her almost gone out of sight. So he just sighs, and turns to head back inside, and to bed.