Day 28: Mystic Spa

[byakushi]

[from hereByakuya entered the spa in a somewhat less grand manner than normal; he felt deflated, due to the unpleasant business that had been occurring all day. But, then again, that was why he was here, was it not? To release some of that stress. He wouldn't be able to function, otherwise... and the next - or, rather, the FIRST - task he'd set

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[haiiro_no_chou]

Rukia looked up at Fai, a bemused expression on her face as Ururu scurried ahead. "She really loves Urahara," she said quietly, "I think he's like a father to her." It was hard to imagine the sneaky shopkeeper in such a role, but perhaps he was one of those people - like Renji - who only showed his softer side to certain people.

She shook her head at Fai's question. "No, I'm afraid I haven't met anyone going by those names. If they're your friends, though, perhaps it's better that they are not here."

As they entered the shop listed on the piece of paper, Rukia balked. Her brother was inside, as well as Captain Jack. A small part of her brain told her that was probably a very dangerous combination, but most of her mind just wanted her to back away and hope they hadn't noticed her. She knew she wouldn't be so lucky, though, and after a moment of standing there frozen, Rukia followed the other two into the shop.

She offered a discreet bow to her brother, but otherwise remained silent for the moment. She knew she should ask about the monetary value of the massages, but she didn't trust her voice to sound normal just yet.

[bewarethecute]

Ururu shook her head as Fai-san asked about his friends, knowing how hard it was to be all alone. She wished she had heard of one of them, but all she could offer was a quiet "No. And Kisuke-san isn't here either."

Today didn't seem like it was going to go well either.

Ururu paused, however, seeing how uncomfortable Rukia-san suddenly was. Maybe it had something to do with the other shinigami. The smaller girl went over to the woman, wanting to help at least a little.

"Are you okay, Rukia-san?" Ururu tilted her head to the side. "You look nervous now."

[not_rly_fai]

[moving up to Byakuya and Jack's thread]

[haiiro_no_chou]

Rukia watched Fai for a moment, as he approached the counter, then smiled down at Ururu. She hoped it was a convincing smile. "I'm fine, Ururu," she said quietly, "Just, um, there are so many strange smells in here, I thought my nose had gone crazy." For effect, she rubbed her nose a little.

Squatting down in front of Ururu, she asked, "Why don't I try to find Urahara for you right now? This will be much faster than looking for him all day." She had pretty well exhausted herself late last night, casting a strong binding spell on the dementor, then helping Sora kill the mimic that had attacked Renji, but it seemed silly not to just look for Urahara's spirit thread. He would stand out, she was sure.

She steadied herself on the door frame and closed her eyes, preparing to look for the shopkeeper.

[bewarethecute]

"Oh. Okay then." Ururu was happy enough to accept Rukia-san's excuse. So long as the woman was fine, that's what mattered in the end. Though the girl herself didn't think the smells were that weird.

Then Rukia-san made her offer, and Ururu nodded rather quickly. Faster was good, and Ururu liked good. "Thank you, Rukia-san. I'd really appreciate it." Maybe when they got back home, she could talk to Kisuke-san about giving Rukia-san a special discount for being helpful.

When Rukia moved, so did Ururu, watching the shinigami carefully, and waiting to see what she found out.

[not_rly_fai]

[returning from above]

That hadn't taken long. He returned to the girls, one of them now leaning on the door frame. She was using some kind of magic, that much he could tell, though the details of it escaped him. He pretended not to notice though, as usual. He simply walked over, a smile on his lips. "I found out a little bit about these coupons, I bet we could get a fair price for them." Or at least he assumed so. For a pass that could be used for such varied services, though he didn't know the value of a dollar, seemed to him that it would be a fair amount.

"Any luck on your end?"

[haiiro_no_chou]

Rukia offered a small smile to Jack, but did not wave. She couldn't hear every word of what the group at the counter was saying, but it seemed that Fai had found out something. As he returned, Rukia focused on pulling on her own spiritual energy, blocked or weakened though it was.

After a moment, spirit threads - mostly white, some red - became visible. Urahara's was one of the red threads, but it seemed to stretch away into the distance... back to the Institute. Quickly dropping the minor spell, Rukia swayed only slightly. She could feel a small trickle of blood in her nose, but sniffed quickly and pinched it. She really didn't want to make a mess here, in front of her brother.

She turned to Ururu. "I found him," she said, her voice nasal. She tried to concentrate on her words and not sound woozy. "But he's back at the Institute. Back where we came from today. So maybe you'll see him tonight." She tried to keep her voice light, but it concerned her that some patients had not been brought on the 'field trip'. Was something terrible being done to him, or any others back there?

Rukia looked up at Fai, but did not stand yet. "Oh, thank you. I hope we can find someone to sell them to. Or trade."

[bewarethecute]

Kisuke-san hadn't come on the trip? That didn't make sense, unless he was doing something smart like finding out things while everyone was gone. That seemed like something Kisuke-san would do, so Ururu was less worried.

"Thank you." The girl looked up at Rukia-san for a moment, tilting her head to the side. She stepped closer to the shinigami, and reached up to put a hand on the woman's cheek. That's when Fai.-san returned, and Ururu looked up at the man in concern. "I think we should go now. Rukia-san's nose doesn't like the smells here."

[not_rly_fai]

"Ah, apparently not," he said as he gave her a slightly worried look. Whatever magic Rukia had done, her body didn't seem to like it. He held the door open for the girls, "how about we chat out in some fresh air then?"

It irritated him that he couldn't pinpoint what the ability was. Had she been looking for someone? It wasn't all that uncommon of a spell. Perhaps she just wasn't terribly good with it? Though he wasn't sure that was it either.

"So what's the plan ladies?" he asked earnestly. He was eager to visit more of the shops and see if anyone had seen his friends.

[haiiro_no_chou]

Rukia smiled at Ururu's concern, as well as her reasoning for leaving the shop. It was very cute, really. She stood carefully; her knees seemed to be supporting her well enough, since she had only used a small amount of energy. Still, the nose bleeding was annoying, as well as the headache.

Spotting a box of tissues on the counter nearby, Rukia took one and blotted her nose. She nodded to Fai and headed back out onto the street.

[Going here]