Time Off! [Mei]

Hayate had his whole world unceremoniously uprooted by the Gotei, yet here he was practicing to better aid them. If someone had asked him where his life might end up leading in the next few decades this would have been the last place, he would have guessed.

“Hey! Rounds over!”

He snapped out of his thoughts to find himself standing above a fallen opponent with his blade primed to strike. Hayate had been in the middle of a sparring match before he had drifted off into his mind. It didn’t bode well for his opponent that he could pull that off on autopilot.

“Yeah yeah… Alright, I’m out of here” Stray arcs of lightning crackled from Raijin as Hayate sheathed the zanpakuto and did just that, despite protests that the session was only half-way through. He had never done well dealing with other people’s time schedules. So he ignored whoever that was and wandered right back out of whatever division’s headquarters he had stumbled into.

Hayate yawned as he passed the gates and found himself back in the Soul Society, the city as bustling and lively as it ever was. He was drawn off to some vague promise of food on the horizon, where he might be able to finally put some of this hard-earned money to use rather than scrounging for whatever he could put together. Hayate hadn't decided yet if this was better than the aimless path he had been following before his ascention to this new role. Before long he was wandering around, lost in thought again.

Oh the Gotei. She had been here for what felt like forever, but also what felt like no time at all. To most people, she was still an incredibly young soul, but she wasn’t going to let that keep her from doing whatever she wanted right now. Kaen was an interesting woman. She walked around with an unlit cigarette dangling from her lips. Her hair was an unnatural black and white. Most people wondered if she dyed it, but she would never tell such a deep secret to just anyone. Was it dyed? Was it natural? One day. One day she would tell someone, but that day probably wasn’t today. It also seemed that she didn’t have any squad markings on her uniform at all. Who was she? Where did she come from? What was she doing? Simply put, she was between squad transfers and her new squad hadn’t been revealed quite yet. So, she was in limbo just awaiting her next set of orders. It was quite difficult to simply remain unused, but she would find some way to occupy her time.

Food. Food sounded good. She would make her way to a particular pub style bar, except it seemed to be blocked off by a rowdy group of individuals. From the stink of things, they had already been day drinking and enjoyed themselves a little too much. How annoying. Kaen would roll her eyes and attempt to sneak her way past them. No point in dealing with the likes of someone who couldn’t even think for themselves. Well, that was until one of them tried grabbing her shoulder to stop her in her tracks, ”Hey, kid. Didn’t you hear what I said? We’re takin-“. Between slurred words and obliviousness to the situation, the drunkard would begin to feel a rather warm sensation growing across the skin of his hand. Flames danced up from the woman’s shoulder and across his hand, as he finally noticed the skin beginning to turn red.

He would cry out in pain and anger as he held his injured hand close. ”It’s rude to put your hand on a lady unsolicited, you know? Unless, that girlish scream was proof of anything,” Kaen would say with a smirk as she rolled her eyes. Of course, she had made the biggest scene possible for someone that didn’t want to be involved with these ruffians and they weren’t going to forgive her so easily. Yelling would break out among the group, but Kaen would only wave her hand as she looked around. Her eyes settled on a new arrival to the area. ”Hey! Shut it! You see that man right there? The one with the white hair. If you can beat him, I’ll buy you all drinks as an apology and I’ll even let you all fight me 4 on 1. How’s that sound?” The promise of drinks seemed to catch their attention and off they went with grins plastered on their faces. She wasn’t sure who this man was, but his reiatsu was certainly telling of how strong he was. She wouldn’t have to do a damn thing other than sneak off into the unguarded pub as she waved to the white haired, unknowing man.

Hayate had managed to get through the door and sit down, even order himself a drink before he was quickly surrounded by ruffians! So far, the citizens of the city had been giving him a bit of respect thanks to this new uniform, nothing like the people in the outer reaches of Rukongai. The newly fledged Shinigami had been in the middle of draining his tankard before one of the would be-attackers took a swing.

He finished his drink as he casually slipped the strike to let the man’s fist slam right into the wall. Hayate’s perpetual scowl turned for a moment as he let the refreshing brew do its work. A confident smirk as he moved right into the action, only leaving a moment to joyfully state “Just like home!” before he got to work.

What followed was a sound beating, with the last of them crashing through the wall next to the door with a cloud of splinters as the wooden construction gave way to leave Hayate to step through this convenient new door. “Explain.” He demanded, standing over the fallen patron only to see the man point over his shoulder toward the bar.

Hayate ‘actually’ followed this direction to see Kaen sitting there, though when he turned back his interrogation target had fled with astounding speed. “Damn…”

He stomped back into the bar, right toward the woman he presumed was at fault. “You have something to do with that?” He motioned to the now trashed area he had been sitting only a few minutes before. This one had some explaining to do. He was certain he didn’t know her, by now he had a good grasp of the women in his life that might want to cause him actual physical harm and she just wasn’t on the list.

Well, he hoped, anyway.

As she entered the pub, Kaen heard what sounded like the scuffle begin outside. She would hear some banging on the walls and hear some muffled yelling coming from the great beyond. Not too long after it had started, the fight would end with a body splintering through the wall and crashing to the floor. Kaen would turn to look over her shoulder slightly before turning back around and placing her hand up to cover her face. She hadn’t really thought about the aftermath, however she had a semblance of an idea about how to fix it. As the white haired man questioned his victim, Kaen would rapidly tap her finger on the counter requesting a drink urgently. With a full drink of her own, it was quite confusing what she could possibly want with it.

Kaen would listen to the sound of loud, stomping footsteps coming her way. All she could do was hang her head and drop her unconvincing hand. She had been outed. She would hear the man begin to question her, causing her to swing around in her seat with a bit of a nervous smile. ”It wasn’t malicious by any means. You see, they came at me first. I was just a single girl against all of those rowdy men, so I enlisted your help. I could tell you were strong enough to handle those extras. Not for free, of course,” Kaen would say casually trying to convince this man that he was a hero of sorts. At the same time, a large mug of beer would be slid down the bar into her grasp. She would hold the beverage up to the man with a grin, ”My treat. Whatever you want. The name’s Kaen. Thanks for the save!”

Of course, Kaen seemed genuine enough in her explanation and free drinks were always nice. However, if the man were even remotely paying attention to her, he’d be able to tell she could have easily dispatched them on her own, as well. So, why did she need the help? Well, who cared?

Hayate's expression didn't shift as he looked over the peace offering provided. After a short deliberation he took the drink "Like you couldn't have handled them yourself." He muttered and took a seat at the bar. While he couldn't quite pick out why, he had a feeling this woman was much stronger than she looked so whatever he reasons this whole scenario could have been avoided. "Hayate. Just keep those coming I guess." He returns the introduction while he drains his tankard in short order, placing the empty vessel on the bar.

"So you start fights like this often?" Really, he wanted to know what the point of this whole thing. It wasn't like she could have known he'd just be able to handle himself after all. What was the goal? Regardless, the new shinigami seemed content enough to just enjoy the freebies while they were available. The man wasn't exactly talkative beyond that, most of the time there wasn't a reason to speak in the Zaraki district beyond issuing threats or insults so Hayate had never really had the practice.

"... My captain isn't gonna like the report on this one is she?" It took a little thinking, but he remembered that Captain Makishima had been very clear that there wasn't to be any shenanigans while the Fifth Division were out and about.. Oh well, she'd get over it.

Kaen would grin hearing Hayate say that she could have handled them herself. It seemed he wasn’t as clueless as she had expected. She knew he was strong, but he seemed more of the brute strength type from her initial perspective. ”Well, you’re not entirely wrong, but let’s just say I’m not willing to deal with that kind of damage today. I’ve got a lot going on, you know? I dont have the money to pay for a whole new section of seireitei,” Kaen would shrug and shake her head from side to side. What did that even mean? Just what kind of power did she have? Surely, this information would raise a brow for Hayate, but it was up to him whether he wished to pursue the interest or not. Kaen would tap the counter and wave a hand to the bartender, who would begin filling another mug. ”Nice to meet you, Hayate,” she would retort as she placed the unlit cigarette in her mouth that she had been carrying around.

”Well, more often than my squad captains seem to like. Probably why they keep tossing me around. Can’t seem to keep one to save my life.” Bit of a strange predicament really. In all actuality, it wasn’t because of her inability to stay out of trouble, but her ability to prove that she just didn’t belong. She had never really been placed in a squad or position that suited her skill set. When she did get a decent spot, there was always someone better to replace her. Between transfers, she didn’t want to risk getting kicked out before she could even get established. Honestly, the thought seemed to put a frown on her face. Kaen would raise a finger to the tip of her cigarette and when she lowered it, a red glow could be seen from the end. Steadily, smoke seemed to rise and float upon the air.

Hayate would ask a question that she seemed to ask herself all too often. A chuckle would escape her, ”Well, if you hadn’t busted through the wall… but uh.. maybe she’ll give you a bit of a break. Could always mention the part where you saved my skin. In reality, it’s their fault.” Kaen would take a drag from her cancer stick, blowing the smoke away from her new acquaintance. ”Which one is your captain anyway? Can’t be too bad, unless it’s that red headed one. Hear she’s a real monster.” The woman would nod, as if she was already convinced the stories were true.

“A whole section? Huh.” This seemed to pique Hayate’s interest at least, if she was strong enough to destroy so much of Seireitei then she had to be a decent challenge. “I think I’d like to see that.” He chuckled and took to finishing the rest of his drink, apparently having calmed down in moments.

“Weird.” He didn’t quite know what to make of her second statement, he didn’t really care what squad he ended up in. At the moment it had been the squad being led by that red-haired nightmare. He took up his newly poured drink and went right to emptying the mug almost as quickly as it was poured.

He peered down from his drink at the mention of said crimson menace and furrowed his brow. “That one, actually. They figured I’d do best with the rest of the idiots, I guess. They don’t expect much I reckon.” Hayate shrugged it off in the end to finish off his second drink. “I’ve managed to avoid her ire so far, who knows how long that’ll last.” He added.

“Still, she’s strong. Guess that’s all that matters for that division. Heard they’ve been having trouble with the fifth until recently. So it's a good time to be there.” He pondered, clearly not quite as much a meathead as he might have seemed. There was a brain in there somewhere.