A Local Ramen bar

[Jinn / Gojyo]

Jinn on his way off for the fight was looking at the slums, and visions of his pre captain days came flooding back, he dropped to the floor and gave everyone a quick bow, they must of been in shock of a captain to appear in there area, but he passed out a few coins, for there kindness when he was a child out of the academy.

He wandered along the mazes of homless and drunk as well as the filthy, but it didn't mind him these were his family and he reconsided a few and gave them greetings, until he stopped infront of a building with some tassles hagning donw infront of the door, he couldn't remember this place but his feet wanted to go in, still tyring to figure the palce out he was already in.

The bar tender looked over and gave a gasp of schock and joy, he hopeed over the abr and ran up and hugged Jinn and said "I tol you boy, you'd be a Captain one day, what will it be the usual?" Jinn now reconsied the place but it never used to be as run down as this and said "Hai, Sake and Pork bone ramen, and put a hint of.." The old man knew the answer off by heart and they both said "Whiskey!" Jinn and the old man began to laugh, he pulled out what little money he had left and put it in the table.

He pulled up a stool and began to eat healthily and ordered mroe whenever he could, he would keep this place form becoming a tip if it was the last thing as captain he did.

[Vespera]

((I hope you don’t mind, I’m gonna hang with you until I have to get back to the fight ^^))

Vespera found that Roorik’s brother was in reasonable health, suffering from a common illness that he caught from eating some bad food. Regardless, she wanted to get the younger male some medicine to insure that he was able to get through it without too much ailment.

So she shuffled back to her home village to retrieve some of her herbal medications from her younger brother. It was also a wonderful relief to be away from the fighting, since Roorik was nearly hanging out of the window in interest and irritating both his captain and sibling with his lack of caring.

“Poor, misguided boy.” Vespera said to herself as she walked back towards the Seireitei with a small bag in hand, adjusting her glasses with the other. “He needs a swift thump to the head, so easily distracted. I wonder where he got that from-- ramen bar!”

Among the various bodies that Vespera could recognize as having once been treated by one of her family members, she came to a building, and with a nose with no less strength then that of a bar smelled one of her favorite food groups.

“Do you serve chocolate ramen here?” With big, innocent eyes gleaming from behind her glasses she inquired of the first person that she came to, having been denied finishing her big breakfast of chocolate ramen with whipped cream and strawberries. Vespera seriously doubted they did, since it was a rather random concoction of Yumi’s, but it was worth checking out.

Her eyes fell back to normal while looking around the bar, a flash of white catching her careful vision. A haroi. So there was another captain around. Squad… 8. Her wooden shoes clicked quietly against the floor while she walked over. “I don’t want to interrupt you while you’re eating, but I wanted to come over and meet you.” She wasn’t familiar with the captain, so it was a good of a time as any to introduce herself and become acquainted, to get her mind off of other things. “I’m Shimihaso, Vespera, captain of Squad 4. Who might you be?” Her introduction was sweet and simple, so if the other wanted to carry on a conversation it was open but if he wanted to continue eating it could be an open and shut moment.

[Jinn / Gojyo]

Jinn turned slowly and was taken by the females beauty and in his mind he thought she was rather nice, he smiled broadly and said " Kujo will make any ramen requested," Jinn chuckled and then realised the question, he put down his sake bottle and offered his hand "Oh where are my manners for such a good looking captain, i'm Jinn Nialo, newly appointed, and wanted to tell my good friends at this ramen bar about my sucess, as they helped me when i was at the academy giving me work and food and shelter,"He looked down and then back at her with a smile brushing some of his fringe from under his bandana from his face and continued" Sorry im rableing, but its good to meet you Miss Vespera" Jinn gave a small bow on his seat.

He pulled out a seat and said "Please Join me for some Sake whilst you enjoy the finest Ramen in soul society" Jinn pulled out a small cup and poured a cup of Sake with relitive skill, and as he finished pouring the ramen was put down and Kujo bowed saying "A friend of Jinn gets a free bowel" He bowed and went away dealing with the little costumers that there was.

Jinn ate some of his ramen and said "If you don't mind me asking Miss Vespera how long have you been a captain?" Jinn looked at her, he was relitivly young looking and in age as well his eyes showed some intrest in either her being here or her skill as a captain.

( The more the merrier, i'll join you going to the figth if you don't mind)

[Vespera]

((^^ That’s cool with me!))

Vespera took the hand that was offered to her, shaking with a firm confidence that came with her high position but still managed not to be overpowering or intimidating. “Well, it’s a pleasure to meet you Jinn Nialo.” She smiled, placing both hands around her bag, still standing and looking down at him. His rambling made her laugh a bit, but at the same time gave her a little light into his nature.

“If you don’t mind having me, I would love to join you.” Slowly she bowed in reply, setting her bag down and sitting in the chair pulled out for her. Since she wasn’t planning to go back to work for a moment she took off her glasses and tucked them into her sleeve pocket, letting her hair down as well. She took the cup of sake with a thank you, but was a bit shocked to see a bowl of her favorite ramen set on the table with no charge added on.

“You’re too kind, thank you.” Vespera bowed to him, scooting the bowl to her and breaking her sticks apart. Before she could dive in, a question was asked, pausing her motion. “Well… oh it was so long ago I can’t remember.” She laughed, setting a hand to her cheek. “I would say a little over 50 years, after my captain died of her mental illness.”

With a smile she ate a few of her noodles, warmth running through her. “Please, drop the honorific, just call me Vespera. But it’s so nice to see a captain that comes back to where they began instead of writing it off the moment they receive their rank. Tell me a little more about yourself.”

[Jinn / Gojyo]

Jinn smiled at the friendly nature of this captain, he knew that the medical team were generally nicepeople as it came with the job but still, Jinn frowned abit at hearing the captain dieing part and said "Sorry to hear about the previous captain, but i'm sure you do them proud each day" Jinn gave a slightly nervious smile and continued

"As you wish Vespera, i believe the moment you drop the memory of who helped you as a seedling, stops you becoming the full strong oak tree, that can't help those around because the arrogance of the job has blinded you." He chuckled abit and continued" There isn't much to know about me, i'm about 120, recently became captain, and plan on doing a good job, no family apart from a brother that seems to of dissipeared form the realm, but i'm sure he's fine. I'm a fairly friendly person when i need to be, and because of my zanpaktou and my upbringing here i have a strong sense of honor and loyality to my friends and would galdly give my afterlife for any of them." He gave a little embarressed smile at giving away such information, but he thought it couldn't hurt.

He ate soem noodles and sipped some sake and then continued "Aaaannnndddd now a little history leasson on the 8th captain" He chuckled and gave a teachery tone in his voice and continued" My parents were killed when i was 3, me and my brother wandered the streets no one would believe a 3 year old about monsters then after a while we were took into a home i was kicked out, found the hollow and died killing it with my shikai...... a shinigami was going to kill the hollow but saw me instead, the rest they say m'dear is history" Jinn raised his sake and said "Cheers" and knocked it back, then quickly replaced it with another one.

He looked at the fourth squad captain and said "If you wouldn't mind honoring me with a little about you?" Jinn then finished off his ramen and ask Kujo for his speciality, the oldish man bowed and walked off into the kitchen.

[Vespera]

“I hope I do. I looked up to her immensely, she was quite a woman.” In spite of her general insanity and paranoia she managed to hide from the world. Vespera smiled and picked up her sake up and sipped a bit. “She helped me find a lot of aliments plaguing Shinigami and taught me to branch out from my normal frame of thinking in terms of treatment.”

She listened to Jinn speak about himself, alternating between eating her ramen at a nice set pace and drinking her sake. “That’s a wonderful saying to live by.” The captain finally spoke when he was completely finished, setting her cup down. “I’m sorry about your family. I don’t know how it is to live without them, but I do know what it feels like to lose a parent and brother and it’s not the easiest feeling in the world to try to make it past.”

Before she started in about herself, she ate a bit more, apparent glee showing on her face from having her favorite ramen. “Well, I’ve been in the Seireitei for some time; I was here even before the rule of Aizen. I’m in my 300’s, and I was raised by a clan of medics and healers, all save for my brother, who was in Squad 11 before his death, and my father, who was the lieutenant of Squad 8 before his passing. You’ve probably heard of him, Jetsuga Shimihaso.”

Finally her noodles were finished, and she set the bowl off to the side. “I was an average girl myself. I was set off to the academy after a certain amount of time because my mother believed it was pointless to waste my talent at home. I went, graduated near the top of the normal classes, and was shipped right into the 4th squad. The ramen here is amazing, I might have to make this a new weekend stop.” She grinned, finishing her sake.

“So, I’m taking it that you choose not to view the spar going on this morning, Captain.”

[Jinn / Gojyo]

Jinn looked ddwoand nad then to her with a smile again and said "Call me Jinn please, i'd prefer to think of myself as the academy student with power" Jinn chuckled a little and knocked back another sake and refilled his cup, he offered the other captain some sake whilst he continued, "I like to fight, it makes me feel like im needed for something, and i don't know the other captains so i just stay out the way," He looked down giving away that he got nervous around people he didn't know "My zanpaktou is quite agressive and when we fight its like we are one, and it shuts the old beast up" Jinn chuckled some more and said "So no not really, although i did pass by on the way here."

Jinn sipped his sake this time and said "I'm sure you will be needed, knowing the history of captains of Soul Society. I was told when i joined 8th i acted like Old Captain Shunsui, which is quiet comical, aparently he was laid back which i am and prefered not to fight which i do" Jinn looked at her and rested and his elbows ready to pour her some more sake if she needed it. "Oh and i like to think of myself as a samurai, as i've always wanted a honorable death, and i live by my family motto, the last thing my father told me before he passed"

[Vespera]

Vespera laughed, holding out her cup when more sake was offered. “Alright, Jinn it is. You should take some time to get to know the other captains when all of this is said and done. Captain Triantafillou is a likeable guy judging from the many fangirls he’s gained from my family, I haven’t said more than 4 words to Captain Fumine, however, and Captain Ogiri seems like a nice man.” She sipped her drink, downing that cup a bit quicker than the other. “I should say I need to go out and meet some people as well, the only one I really know is Konstantine.”

The woman noted his looking away and stored it in the back of her head for later random reference. “That’s a beautiful relationship you have with your Zanpakutou then. I wish it was a little more like that for me, but I two spirits and they tend to argue a bit. Three is a crowd after all. Maybe we could spar together sometime if our schedules permit. I’m definitely not the strongest captain but I can surprise you.”

“Oh yes, everyone loves to fight. I have so many squad 11 members coming in and out of my office on a daily basis to the point where I nearly know all of them.” Vespera sighed, having her cup filled once again. “Well I hope that honorable death doesn’t come to you for a while. I hate to say, but I fear death myself, I think it’s why I love working in a field that allows me to extend life. It’s just that, where do you go after you die? As a human you become a Shinigami, but after your spirit dies--? My captain believed that you cycled back into humanity once more before your spirit truly dies…”

The woman shook her head, finishing her drink. “Happier topics! Are you married Jinn? Have any kids or anything in that nature?"

[Jinn / Gojyo]

Jinn shook his head "I was a but child, when died, and in the afterlife it was the same no girl tends to look at a nerd with a sword," He chuckled a bit and said "I have been training myself as a samurai so i tend to think i can survive myself" He smiled at her and said "If you wish to know i believe in reincarnation, spirit dies you go back to base level of life plants to insects and working back up to the ultimate life form of spirits" Jinn smiled with a little wisdom in his eyes

He chuckled some more seemingly a little tipsy, but to anyone who had beenw atching he had about 4 times the ammount of Sake that she did and Kujo the barman had been refilling the bottlle whenever it was empty.

He finsihed with "Kajiryuu is a angry spirit and it takes alot to keep him under control, but if a spar you want i'll apologise if i go into a slight blood rage" Jinn knoew he was understating majorly and didn't want to fight her and destroy a work of art but if it came to it he'd try and hold back, he continued after a pause before it became awkward and said "I'll meet the other captains in due time i'm sure, but fate surely blessed me when you walked in" He gave her a slight wink and a cheeky smile incase she thought he was serious.

[Vespera]

“Really? Such a shame, I’m sure that there’s some pretty girl out there missing out on something.” She said with a smile, declining mentally to ask for a second bowl and another cup of sake, keeping herself relatively fresh because she knew she was going to be working after the fight… bringing about the unsettling words uttered to her…

“Oh please darling, blood lust and blood rage situations that I am all too familiar with.” The captain said with a wave of her hand, setting her chin in her hand and waving away the worry nonchalantly. “If that’s the only worry that might be preventing you from exploring this possibility, please don’t let it hinder you at all. If you do have an… out of control property about you, I can put you down in the event of lost control.”

She still did carry her needles like her lifeline, refusing to let the poison dipped objects go out of her worry of what could go wrong in any number of situations. The final statement made her laugh and smile, fingers reaching up to toy with the feather in her hair since the formal one that was usually attached to her face was left in her home.

“I’m sure such a charming captain as you will feel at home among the ranks in no time.” Vespera of course knew he was joking, she had an alarm in her that allowed her to realize such things. “You’ll probably feel more at home than you realize.”

[Jinn / Gojyo]

Jinn sighed abit heavily and said "You'd think that, but i spose i'll get by my inate ability to survive through the toughest of situations always did get me to better places..... except when i died" He chuckled and the last part had a hint of ironic justice as a joke in it.

"Well name a day and place and i'll try not to hurt you to badly... unless thats your thing" Some of the drink had been placing those words with certain tones but Jinn did manage to hide some of it and continued "But on a more serious note, if i do get into it please don't hold back and i'll keep bankai to a lower stage, don't want to break anything now do we" Jinn chuckled some more.

He placed his space hand onto the grip of his zanpaktou and began playing with the Chibi Dragon on the end of a chain nerviously, he didn't really want to fight a captain, even though he's meant to be the same level, he always knew that 4th squad although healers must have some combat skillls other wise they wouldn't be able to go into battle and heal and come out looking better than what they healed, and something about the way she said things made Jinn think that she had something up her sleeve or several.

Jinn smiled at her and said "I'm at home everywhere it's not angering people thats my problem, i have another talent to speak my mind and not care what the other person thinks, if it needs to be said it should be said. Not that it's the best route all of the time" Jinn remanised and raised his sake cup and sipped it thoughtfully.

[Vespera]

Vespera kept her small smile, covering her lips with her fingers. “Let’s leave it to spontaneity.” The captain replied when asked for a date for the spar. “I know if I give a set day then that day I’ll end up being the busiest. You won’t have to worry about it for some time however, I do know I’ll have my mind and my hands full in the immediate future.”

Habitually, she pulled out the pocket watch that she carried, fingers roaming against the name etched into out while she popped it open and gazed at the time. “Oh, if anything ends up broken it’ll be a good excused to provide my squad with more training.” The woman said with an honest laugh, shutting the trinket and tucking it back into her pants. “I fell sick a few years back and held a nice long seminar about treatment and beside manner for my nurses.”

Giving into her want for something to drink, she politely requested a cup of green tea if they had it around, pulling out her coin purse so she could pay for a cup or two of the liquid. “Yea, that might get you hurt sometimes. But at least you’re straightforward. Sometimes people beat around the bush then sugar coat it and it gets so damn confusing sometimes. Though I cannot say that I haven’t been guilty of keeping some ideas of mine to myself.”

When the tea arrived Vespera wrapped her hands around it, blowing on it softly before sipping a bit. “You’re toying with something, are you nervous about anything?”

[Jinn / Gojyo]

Jinn smiled and asked kujo for the same, he might as well sober up, even though he was hardly buzzed at all. Jinn noticed she rubbed the name etched into her watch and then heard about her little story of being sick, then finally the question of being nervous.

He stayed quiet for some time and thought about it, so much had happened so fast, but he thought he might be truthful "Sorry to hear about your illness, but if your in your own medical beds then yoru.... pupils...." He chose the word carefully and continued" Would be working extra hard because it would refelct on there skills." Jinn smued over the thought of his squadees looking after him, he was the back up squad so thigns were lax but he made sure they trained hard.

"As for the nervous i'm like that around good looking women, and that im new to the whole responsibility thing." He didn't joke with the words and if she was shocked he'd put it down to the booze, she didn't know he could handle more alcohol than a brewery, at least not yet.

He looked at her and smiled saying "At least i made one friend for the X number of years i've been here, and whenever you want a kicking just ask, and if it by miricle it does go the other way i at least know i'm in good hands, and would be honored to have you dabbing my head with a weet cloth" He chuckled heartily and sipped some of his own tea as it arrived, Kujo was a old old friend and he knew him for the fastest serving in the land of life and afterlife.

"Why time you leaving maybe i can walk you back? Even as a captain there are dangers" Jinn chuckled, he knew she probably could handle the odd hollow that dared roam in this area, and if any shinigami went rogue, they'd have to be at least captain level to stand against the reitatsu he thought he could see in her alone.

[Vespera]

“Well, that was a problem for the first few weeks, but after a while they fell into their habits and I started working on those.” Vespera spoke with the cup close to her lips, ready to take another sip. “Sometimes however I have to use myself as a human dummy to make sure everything’s really getting through to them without risking the life of another.”

Vespera laughed from behind her cup at his nervous comment. “Well, there’s no need. Relax a bit more.” Finally she took a pause to finish her tea off, setting the cup with the empty sake cup as well. “I won’t bite, and eventually you’ll fall into the responsibility frame of mind. It comes naturally to some; you might be one of them.”

She pulled out a few coins and paid for her drink with a smile, bowing in thanks for the service. “Oh of course, you’re in well trained hands. As a captain you receive treatment from me personally and my head nurse Devon. Me or him, your recovery will be quick. And as long as you don’t leave before I release you it will be painless.”

Once again she looked at her watch to observe the time, this time around actually taking it into account. “Soon, definitely, I have to check on my ward for the day.” Vespera said, putting her coin purse away and stacking the dishes she used to make it easier for collection. “Oh, that’s sweet of you, thank you. I could use the company, I left Cutie at home for the day.”

[Jinn / Gojyo]

Jinn waved the coins back to her and said "I'll pay, yoru company was payment enough" Jinn flciked a few coisn to Kujo and he caught them nimbily and bowed saying "Your both welcome anytime," Jinn got up and stood by Vespera.

He raised a curious eye to her and said "You left cutie?" Jinn didn't think he needed more to say so he placed his hands in his trouser pockets so that his zanpaktou grip was between his wrist and his body, he then continued "I prefer to think myself lax, but as the back up squad leader i know that the shinigami will have to train incase they get called in and have to save your boys" Jinn chuckled and began to walk outside to the door.