Fast Track to Making Money | NDE - R | Joint Training

[Deleted]

OOC: Short intro but it works. Training for TTP

"Listen you stupid moronic thick headed fat fucking virgin I don't give a rats ass how long you've been cooking this time you're adding cookie dough and ice cream!" You fucking dumbass you don't add that shit to ramen! Besides, I've got some left over baked chicken I tear up and put in the soup along with some spinach, green onion, mung beans and eggs. You're not going to make me ruin my dinner tonight! Luke snapped back, swerving a bit on his bicycle. "Hurhurhur look at me I'm Luke I like adding basic normie shit to my noodles! Well you know what I say? Normies get out REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" God it was like a bullfrog screaming but instead of an exhale it was all one big inhale. Luke, with a growl and a grumble, immediately set up that mental wall to keep Jäger out of his head. It never worked for terribly long, but just enough time for Luke to calm down and for Jäger to, often times, chill out.

It was a rather warm night in Karakura, odd since the seasons were shifting to winter. But Luke couldn't complain. He found himself, once again, heading home from another closing shift from work on his bike. Speaking of which has it ever been stated just how much Luke loves his bike? Because for real he loves that thing. Not only does it save him a fortune on bus ticket money, but it gets him a very decent workout riding to and from work every day. This week had, so far, been good to him. He hadn't felt the need to snap at anyone at work, save for Jäger, and hadn't had a run in with anything spiritual related as well. Maybe if Luke could go a full week without something stupid, and explodey, going on around him he might just be able to pretend to be normal again.

Applying the brakes to his bike at the end of the intersection, Luke stood waiting for the red light to turn green so that he could go. He wasn't really paying attention to much of anything, save for thinking over his dinner for the night, so when he began to cross the street when the light turned green he was rather caught off guard by the sudden freaking car speeding through the redlight rightfuckingtowardshimohshit. There was a crunching sound as the vehicle slammed into Luke's bike, sending the two wheeled machine into the air and causing it to bounce, bent in half from the collision. Luke, however, was nowhere near it. The young man was actually a few yards away from where his bike got hit, standing on the sidewalk panting as his heart felt like it would explode out of his chest at any minute.

Jesus fucking christ.. Luke swore, mentally, as he took a few more deep breaths and ran his hands through his hair. He had to use Movement to get away from his bike fast enough, his Instinct being high enough to allow him react in time before he had gotten hit. Just what was the cars problem? Luke began to walk towards the corpse of his bike when he saw another car, this one he got a good look at, speed through the intersection. A sports car? In Karakura? Luke frowned as he became eager to make some assholes pay for destroying his bike. "Oh oh! Can I help can I help?" Jäger chimmed in as Luke bent down over his destroyed bike, picking it up and holding it behind his shoulder. A scowl had painted itself on his face as he looked in the direction the two cars had gone, and his gaze had turned into a firey glare. You know what...maybe you can tonight. "Yeeeeeeeeeeeeee"

["Taka" Sar]

Zaluu liked to think of herself as a reasonable woman. After all, she ran a PRETTY clean operation so far as streetracing went. Cheaters, rulebreakers, mayhem bringers. They all had a way to be... dealt with. And honestly, Zaluu was a little dissappointed when one of her rookie racers came to her looking to borrow one of her spare vehicles, and what do they do? When at long last the race was over, and finally the cars all came to the finish line. A very clear bike-sized dent streaked across the front of the car.

Zaluu had been watching this young woman on her knees, groveling for the better part of fifteen minutes now. Blah blah blah too many classes, blah blah blah her dad was in prison. Excuses. That's all she ever fucking heart. Shaking her head slowly, Zaluu hopped down from her seat, striding calmly toward the woman and narrowing her eyes for a moment as she watched those pretty eyes widen. She had to admit the girl wasn't hard on the eyes. "Look. I don't care about any shit you have going on at home. Wether your daddy, your brother, your third uncle 's granddaughter, is in prison, in juvie, or on death row. If you come into one of my fuckin races, you come with your head straight on." she stated STERNLY, watching the poor girl wilting under her authorative gaze.

Taka rolled her eyes, sighing as she knew exactly what the girl was thinking. "Get up. And tilt your head back." she noted, nodding. The girl blinked, confused up until several of Zaluu's men came up behind her, suddenly forcing her down onto her knees, tilting her head back and forcing the girl's mouth open, despite the noises of protest and struggles, all the while Zaluu shook her head. "I dunno what kinda torture or murder you think is coming your way. But you need to relax kid. Yer gonna be perfectly fine. Think of it like... a time out."

Zzzzip

Those eyes on the girl widened as Zaluu undid the zipper that ran down the palm of her plush bodie's hand, and casually, it was held over that open mouth, the plush narrowing her eyes as she gave a soft little snort. "But you broke the rules. So you get whats comin to you. You can have your body back when you've had some time to think about what you did. The people you endangered. And how yer gonna pay back whoever the fuck you almost killed. And let me tell you missie, just how bad it's gonna be for you after this, is VERY dependent on that modifier staying there." she hissed, narrowing her eyes as she indicated that it BETTER have been an 'almost' killed.

The gal gave one last whimper before something small and round dropped from that open zipper, and after that... well... nobody would probably believe the tale she told about what happened next.

---

Zaluu had to admit... this was comfortable. Slipping on her jacket, she had never realized that her clothing was actually kinda tight. She smoothed back those purple locks, tying the silky tresses back and shook her head, sighing softly as she stepped out of the room, ignoring the panicked noises of the upset disembodied individual. Who was currently taking a time out from their body. In the meantime? 'Taka' was going to be keeping an eye on it. A light little swat to her new behind and she couldn't help but wonder if maybe she aughta frame the kid and keep the body permenantly. She rolled her eyes at the idea dn just kept walking.
"Boss uh... we found the guy"

She stopped in her tracks, those eyes widening for a moment.
"That was fast." she mused, lightly rubbing her chin.

"He kinda found us."

Ahhh, a resourceful one. Well this might actually be pleasant then. Shrugging her shoulders, Taka allowed the man to lead her off, casually walking behind until finally they got to the... 'reception area' of the club, a smile casually slithering across those features of hers, her arms held up as she paused, adjusting herself a little. It always did take a second or two to adjust to a body. She probably should start practicing it more. But in any case, she grinned. "Well well well. Sorry to keep you waiting Sir. I hear you came into a bit of a close call with one of our vehicles." she stated calmly and collectedly at the man that had been brought before her, gently running her fingers back through that violet hair.


"I'm guessing you want that bike paid for right? Well you got it cutie. And if you have any medical builds, one of my boys will be hooking you up with a number of someone who can deal with all that." she stated right off the bat, striding calmly and purposefully toward the young man so that she could get a better look at him. Her vision still wasn't the best, and no matter whose body she hopped into, it always seemed to be a little subpar for the course. Even now she was straining, her eyes having to work to pick out features from any actual distance more than twenty feet. But thankfully the place wasn't quite THAT big.

"The name's Taka. and I sincerely hope that this little... incident has not soured your perception of my establishment. And if you could oblige, I would personally like to buy you a drink. As a gesture of my condolence, and as a token of sincerity to me saying that I assure you: If I have it my way, that will never happen to you again." She noted with a nod/bow of her head to the man, a very deep gesture of sincerity as she offered a hand to him. It didn't hurt that the dumb bitch whose body was being held from her wasn't ugly, who knew, maybe she could even get this guy to hang around. Any ill opportunity was STILL an opportunity.

"Way, you wouldn't happen to be a good driver would you?" she would ask, hopefully on their way to the bar.

[Deleted]

You know it really wasn't hard finding exactly where the two cars had sped off to. In fact, using that sixth sense of his he was able to keep some awfully close tabs on where it was they were going. Even the most normal of persons can have some spiritual energy in them that allowed them to be tracked. Had Luke been a normal person, like he was wanting, he would have been left behind without any way of following them. Without his bike he should have just been left behind anyways, but some strategic using of Movement across some rooftops and he was able to keep pace. It honestly felt exciting to be speed blitzing across roofs, almost made him feel like a god damned super hero. Though the destroyed bike he was carrying was certainly putting a damper on that idea. "If you dropped the bike you'd be going faster you know." Jäger chimed in.

No shit Sherlock. But if I left it behind I wouldn't have anything to shove up someones ass! Luke snapped back, getting a laugh out of the entity in him. This, actually, wasn't the first time Luke had nearly been hit by some speeding fucks when on his way home from his closing shifts. Having lived in Karakura Town for about a year, year and a half, at this point he'd begun to hear some rumors about night time activities. Clubbing had never really been his thing, or really any night time activity other than sleeping, so it had taken time for a rumor or two about Karakuras street racing to finally hit him. A bar gets you more info than a grocery store checkout lane. This was maybe the third time Luke had encountered any of the racers, and the times when he had seen them had always been spaced out. So it wasn't like it was a normal occurrence.

Luke arrived soon enough at where his tracking skills had led him. He didn't know enough about the local area yet to recognize the asylum and so knew nothing about it. But there was one thing he noticed about it as he got close; it was like a god damned Christmas tree. It was lighting his sixth sense up like Rudolph's god damned nose, in fact it was even hurting his head to the point that he needed to shut his own Energy Sensory off. Something Luke found odd though was just how easily he was able to get inside. Talking with the bouncer out the door about why he had the damaged bike with him, and getting stared at by said bouncer for a moment, had rewarded Luke with just being let in and led to where he needed to go. Luke certainly found it odd how easily he was able to get in, and wasn't really surprised at the looks he was getting over the fact he was still carrying the broken bike.

"I think you're luring in some possible mates." Jäger laughed, but was ignored by Luke. Clubbing just really wasn't his thing right now. Luke was told to wait in something he could call a waiting room, before his escort left to go fetch someone. Luke frowned a bit, finding a seat for his grumpy butt to occupy as he waited for...whoever the hell it was he'd be meeting with. He left his bike leaning against the same seat. "I think they're going to kill you." Jäger suddenly said, which just caused Luke to sigh. And why do you think that? Why was he indulging Jägers stupidity? "It's the only for them to get away with the crime. Don't you understand how many bicycles are harassed, killed, and raped by four wheeled monstrosities every year? It's the ultimate level of hate crime. Killing you means they kill the only witness to their sins! Luke...Luke...you gotta let me out so I can protect you!" Luke tossed his head back into the cushion, just groaning mentally at how stupid this thing was. No. Now stop asking. "Damn it Luke didn't you see all that fine ass in the other room? You can't just walk by all that and NOT let me go for a few squeezes!" Jäger complained.

Luke always found it odd how Jäger, despite being some weird shadow monstrosity, had such an obsession with sexually harassing people. No, I didn't notice. I'm a little more interested in getting my bike paid for. "This is why you're single." No, I'm single because any woman would think I'm fucking crazy! They lock people up for hearing voices in their heads! Luke snapped back. Jäger decided to make one or two little comments following that, but Luke chose to tone him out as he waited. He wondered what time it was. He needed to be up early in the morning to get ready for his shift. Well, seems he wasn't actually going to be waiting long at all. Luke was on his feet when he suddenly heard the door opening and saw somebody he failed to recognize walking in.

"She's cute."

A woman with purple hair looking to be around his age. She wasn't bad on the eyes either, but Lukes mind wasn't going to places like that right now. In fact he gave the gal a rather irritated look, but could she blame him? Well well well. Sorry to keep you waiting Sir. I hear you came into a bit of a close call with one of our vehicles." "Yeah. You could say that again." Luke replied, looking over at his bent bike before returning his gaze to the girl. He was about to lay into her about how she was going to pay him back when she started talking instead, and actually surprised him when she suddenly stated she had no problem with reimbursing him and would have even paid for any medical car he needed. Her flirt didn't go unnoticed either.

Luke blinked, really unsure of what to say in response to all of that. "I'm...actually fine myself. Only thing that got hurt at all was my bike." He explained, scratching the back of his head. He was actually a little rattled. He'd come in prepared to not only argue but to fight, but instead was being treated rather fairly. It seriously caught him off guard. Maybe Luke was too used to the way things were in America, which could have been summed up as "go fuck yourself". "Taka? I'm Luke." Luke introduced. Taka gave Luke a sincere apology, even offered to buy him a drink. In all honesty he was a little flustered about all of it, and was really unsure of what to do or say. "Luke...something isn't right here." Jäger suddenly cut in with a very odd level of seriousness in his voice.

Luke blinked. What's wrong? He asked, instinctively beginning to get on guard in case something was up. "Her hair is purple. Therefore she is crazy. Therefore she won't care about you hearing voices. Make babies with her!" I fuckin' hate you.[ Luke took Takas hand and gave it a firm shake. Cute girl wanting to buy him a much needed drink wasn't something he quite felt like passing on. "Sure. A drink sounds good right about now." He said with a smile. Why not say fuck it to his responsibilities right now and just get a god damned drink. He hadn't had one since he'd first stated hearing Jäger. Walking alongside Taka he was given a question that made him raise an eyebrow. "I haven't drove a car in about a year since moving to Karakura, but I certainly wasn't the worst at it back in the States." Luke explained, knowing full well when he said that he meant he never hit anyone and had no tickets at all.

"Why? You looking for more racers or something?"

["Taka" Sar]

Zaluu was amused, smiling softly as she could almost hear the inner workings of the young man as he seemed to be genuinely surprised by how civil she was being. Those pale blue eyes of hers seemed almost to brighten for a moment as she stepped just a bit closer, almost seeming to be ignoring what he was actually saying as she invaded his personal space, idly reaching up and tapping the center of his throat for a moment, as if checking something, as very gently, she forcefully jabbed her spiritual energy into him. Of course if he was a normal human really there would be no reaction. There'd be nothing for it to interact with. But of course a spiritual being would IMMEDIATELY feel an odd tickling sensation of.... penetration. A sif something had been shoved into them. While knowing FULLY that all she'd done is give them a little poke.

She had to check after all. If she was dealing with a spiritual being then this was made all the more easy, otherwise well... there were certain areas of the estate she couldn't be dragging him to. But in any case, she'd learn one way or the other in a little bit. In any case she'd continue smiling and slip her hand into Luke's own, lightly grabbing him rather aggressively and beginning to pull him along regardless as to his willingness to come along or not.

"Excellent." Didn't even listen, just assumed he was complying. And even if he wasn't, she was a pretty important person here. Not like he had a choice. She'd pull him along and beeline right for the bar, only catching that last question of his as she was actually looking for an answer to it. She paused, her eyes drifting a little before they slowly locked in on Luke, and a slow grin spread across her features as he was finally starting to speak her language, she even forgot that he was a person for a second, reaching up, ditching his hand as she gently curled the tips of her fingers along the underside of his chin.

"What a good boy! Whose a goodboy? Yes thats you~ An astute observation! I am indeed looking for racers. Decent racers. The kinds of racers that don't cheat at races and force me to have to make them dissappear." She noted, ranting just a tiny bit right there as her smile vanished for just a moment as in the back of her mind she thought about fucking Nancy. Goddamn that bitch had caused her a lot of trouble. But then she was smiling again.

"So! If say.. a handsome, smart young man like yourself were interested. I might be able to hook them up with a car. But of course, you'd have to understand that these races are gambles. Skill based gambles, but still gambles. You see, as you..." she glanced over her shoulder, as if specifically looking at a busted up bike that wasn't there. "Don't have a vehicle that we QUITE support in our races. There IS a possibility for you to GET one. You see, one of our racers, TRAGICALLY, was in a bit of a bump with this cyclist. She's being... dealt with. In the meantime, her car is available for grabs. I WAS going to have it be the prize in the next big race."

She paused, lightly flicking him in the chest, another STAB of her spiritual energy, this tim in an ACTUAL warning. "If you were willing to accept that you might lose some of that money I promised you if you lose. Or god forbid, wreck the fucking car, I might just have you earn it. Obviously you're not a professional, but we DO have rookies who drive here. If you say... made it in the top half of the placing. Ten racers, say you stay out of 6th place and worse. You keep the car. Andf hell, if you get at least third place you win your ass some extra cash. Fist place?"

Suddenly she smirked, mving in way too close, their faces almost touching as she spoke lowly. "I'd be VERY impressed. People tend to like me when I'm impressed. I do lots of things for them." Insinuating. Insinuating. Money? Women? Maybe other more personal things? She was being vague intentionally. It let the mind wander as to what sort of things the organizer for streetraces could provide for a person. Imagination tended to produce mainly things that a person REALLY wanted. It was like taking what the person wanted most and dangling it infront of them. But wuthout actually having to go through the trouble of finding out what that was. AND being absolved of the responsibility if they couldnt actually provide it. For her? It was a win win.

"Whatcha think Cutie? Wanna take a ride?" Another sprinkled innuendo to make things sound all the more appealing.

[Deleted]

Things were progressing at a rather interesting and unexpected pace. Luke was beginning to find himself caught in a rather strange turn of events which could very well make this night even crazier than how it started. Rubbing his neck from where his cute and rather friendly host had pocked him, Luke had little choice but to follow after her when she took his hand in her own and began to lead him towards the bar. Seems that she wouldn't taking no, or actually really him trying to slow down, at all. She was able to so easily get away with dragging him because he was trying to figure out just what the hell she did to his neck when she poked it. He finally lowered his hand though, but found it not going all the way down when his host suddenly stopped and started to brush her fingers along his chin. Well that got his cheeks red.

"I like her."

Even though she started to talk to him like a dog, Luke was beginning to enjoy having this womans attention directed at him. She seemed rather happy that Luke asked about her needing racers, showing her that he wasn't exactly the stupidest person in the world. She did need racers, decent ones, and apparently ones that didn't cheat. That last comment about her making cheaters dissapear though sort of woke Luke up a little from the hazy, flirty, dream he was in. He realized just the sort of person he was talking to right now, and realized just how dangerous it might be to get too involved with someone like this. "But dangerous is sexy." Jäger was ignored. Within a few more sentences, the compliments and flirting came right back along with a offer that caused Lukes ears to perk up a bit.

He blinked as he listened to her talk. Luke wasn't really the gambling sort of person. Cards, roulettes, sports games could all be random. He had no ability to do anything in situations like. But something about the idea of skill based gambling caught his attention. He could earn big if he performed big. So, if Luke did want to get in on this it would have all been in his hands. Sadly, though, he didn't have a car. The racing idea certainly sounded fun, dangerous, and a good way to make money and get out of a job he really hated but the issue was he didn't have a car...which is something the purple haired cutie commented on. Luke adopted a look of surprise and concern though when he was informed that the person who had nearly hit him was being punished for her actions.

If this woman made people who cheated disappear what did she do to those that nearly hit people? "That a fact.." Luke commented at the end, the young man clearly in thought about the offer. His thoughts were interrupted however when his host stabbed his chest, and something felt like it suddenly stabbed into him. That same sensation he felt earlier in his throat. Naturally he looked, and touched, where he was stabbed hastily before raising his head and looking at the woman with a frown. What was she doing that for? She kept talking, claiming that if Luke did chose to sign up to start racing he'd have to be fine with losing some of the money he was being promised if he were to lose. He didn't want to think about what he would have to do if he wrecked any car she loaned him.

Good to hear I wouldn't have to go against professionals. Luke suddenly thought when he heard about other rookie drivers. All of this was really appealing to him. Luke hated his job, his main source of income, because of just how boring it was. This sounded exciting and could be a good way to make some money. But, regardless, he still had some hesitations. One of which being the fact he really hadn't driven anything in about a year. Sure, you never forgot how to drive but that was still quite a bit of time to suddenly want to start racing. His host was making things more interesting, more appealing for him, by offering him complimentary prizes if he were to not fall beneath sixth place. Third place, at least, and he'd be winning some extra dosh. And on the mention of first place...did Lukes pants just feel a little tighter?

Their faces became dangerously close together as his host let loose some sweet innuendos about what would happen if Luke were to come in first place. He blinked, not really able to keep his cheeks from reddening a bit as her game worked on him. "Ohohoho now those are some dirty thoughts, Mr. Dry spell." Shut up Luke had been awfully quiet while Zaluu sold him on the idea of being a racer, and now having a moment to actually speak if he wanted. Luke backed his face away a bit, before letting out a rather built up exhale. "You sure do know how to lay it on." He said with a nod and a short chuckle. "And god damn does it sound like fun." There was obviously a but coming. "Tell you what. Give me a little bit to think about it over a drink, and I'll give you a answer in the hour?" Luke offered.

He needed to sit down and think about this, after all. It wasn't unreasonable for him to want to weigh his options and chose between the safe, boring, shitty job or the exciting, dangerous, good money activity. She wouldn't need to worry about him leaving, since he still hadn't been paid back for what happened to his bike. All he wanted was to sit down, drink a little, and think it over. It would be quite the shift, after all.

["Taka" Sar]

Zaluu rolled her eyes, lightly slapping Luke in the face as she snorted. "It's called making things work. And that's fine. Ain't like we don't have all the time in the world." She noted, still smiling as she made her way over to one of the bars, her eyes subtly lancing in the tender's direction. Almost immediately the man balked and then got about making drinks for both her and luke. The woman herself went back to smiling in that calm, relaxed nature, hopping up onto a stool and then swiveling around to fave her victimeguest.

"So. Seeing as you're not a normal human. Hows about you let me know just what you are?" She asked calmly, casually swinging her feet as those bright blue eyes watched him. She'd seen his reactions to those soft little pokes after all. He was definitely a spiritual being, and she was being very casual about it at this point. Sure she didn't know about the voices in his head or what made him tick, but she had a fairly good understanding of his spiritual presence.

"Now, let's cut to the chase, Mr.....I wanna say.. Larry? Mr.Larry. I'm not human either. In fact, this isn't even my body. You happen to be looking at the lovely misus who almost hiht your car." She noted brightly, smiling as she folded her legs and leaned to the side, subtly moving so that her midriff showed just a bit more. "Sadly, little miss crazyhair wasa shitty driver. Almost killed you if I recall. But well, kids you know? They make mistakes. So I ripped her soul out of her body, and decided to borrow it while she thinks about what she did. And hey, I decided to enjoy the sweet bod in the process." She noted with a grin.

"Now I know what you're thinking: Surely this doesnt hurt her right? Well rest assured that being in this skank's body doesnt hurt me at all. And she will be getting it back in mint, ish , condition. She probabl won't like how much aclohol Ive been sipping though." She chuckled to herself, gently sipping the beer that had been put beside her, immediately spitting it out and roumding on the bartender with a glare. "Asshole! You KNOW I don't like beer Horace stop slipping me it when I'm not paying attention!" she hissed angrily, her face going a little red as the bartended chuckled to himself and slid her a more fruity drink, it even has a little crazy straw.

She frowned, glaring, but eventually accepting the drink, drinking through the crazy straw, which seemed to calm her down. "Anyway. As it were, the bottom line is that this isn't my real body. Now I'm telling you this to forwarn you. Because you seem like a nice guy. So let's say... you hit someone, and kill them. Just know that won't be taking you outback and shooting you in the head. I want you to know that I'm...." she paused, thinking briefly about what kind of mess shooting Luke in the head would be, bleh.
"Merciful, yet creative, with my punishments, yea?" She noted with a bright smile.

"But that also applies to my rewards. Ya savy?" She asked, still smirking softly as she watched the man, lightly folding her legs, covering up her lap, but causing her shorts to slide up her legs just a bit, showing off more of the woman's borrowed thighs. Of course obviously she didn't mean sex. But she could imply it. Oh my how she could imply it. And it technically wasn't lying. But even so, she DID have some rewards lined up for the young man. Another soft little jab of her finger, this time from a distance as she fired a little pellet of reiatsu, pinging the man in the chest once again as she giggled to herself.

"Sorry, this is just REALLY fun." She confessed.

[Deleted]

Luke raised an eyebrow at Taka. There was that question again. This was not the first time that someone asked him about him not being a human, and wanting to know what he was. Luke was a human. Why was this such a odd thing for people to get? Were humans with spiritual capabilities such a rare thing? Taking a drink from the beer, something that Luke hadn't had in so long but he so desperately needed, he thought on how to best answer that. God it had been awhile since Luke had a drink. But he was a little surprised he was still so fine with the taste. Luke shrugged before answering with, "I don't know what to tell you. I'm human. Unless you're going to tell me there's a race of underground lizard people that I might somehow be a part of...then I'm human." Luke chuckled before taking another drink.

"Luke." He corrected. Was she really getting his name wrong? But he didn't actually focus on that part because what she said next caused him to pause his drinking and stare at her. The bomb she dropped on him was about as intense as the one America dropped on Japan. "Wait back up" Even Jäger got stunned by what Zaluu just explained. This wasn't her body? Luke had been popping a stiffy over the person who almost hit him (she was cute, to her credit) but she wasn't the one in the pilot seat? Taka was some sort of body snatching thing!? Even if she did nearly hit Luke that was an accident! Luke was fine! Luke looked at Taka, seeing not some lewd gang leader but...something else entirely. Some sort of soul killing monster that could just take peoples bodies as if it were nothing.

She was completely fine with it. She was still trying to flirt with the stunned Luke, as if the information she just vomited all over him didn't mean a damn thing. As Taka turned to yell at the bartender, Luke looked away for a moment and shook his head. You still think crazy is sexy, Jäger?! Luke snapped at the entity. "Hey! Crazy is sexy. But this is something else. Busting a nut in this one isn't worth losing your body and having to drink that fruity shit!" Jäger responded hastily. For once the two agreed on something. Taka was talking to Luke again, bringing his attention back towards her again.

She straight up said that if he were to fuck up he would be subjected to some form of creative punishment from her. That cemented his decision. The line about her creative rewards didn't hit him in the slightest. It didn't matter how hot the girl was because she wasn't the one in control of herself. Some friggin space slug had infiltrated her brain and taken control. Luke clicked his tongue and took another drink from his beer. After swallowing and staring at the bottle for a moment he looked at the Mod Soul with a smile. "Thanks for the offer. I'll pass." He said rather quickly, and just about at the same speed he was already on his feet and heading towards the exit.

["Taka" Sar]

Zaluu sighed softly, rolling her eyes as she recognized that look on the man's face. She stood up and in one fluid motion grabbed onto his shoulder, hopefully stopping him in his tracks. She was nowhere near as strong as him, she honestly had no hope of stopping him physically, but she hoped that he would stop anyway as she attempted to turn him around long enough for him to look at her. It would be then that he'd see it, those piercing eyes staring firmly at him as her reiatsu rippled around her skin almost menacingly for just a moment before it softened, relaxing as she took a slow, deep breath to calm herself.

"Listen kid. I know you probably have some kinda weird shit goin on in your head." She muttered, getting to her feet and looking around, watching everyone else around them enjoying themselves, having fun. Nobody was even looking in their direction after all. Only her crew knew it was her walking around in Tomo's shoes after all. And Tomo was a bit of a hobag, so they had competely figured that was still her. "I'm old kid. Real old.... A long time ago, the shinigami took someone very important away from me. and then they took me as well. And for .... a long while, that was my existence." She paused, thinking things over. She didn't mind spilling her guts.

"They gave me a chance. Or I thought they were. They said they'd let me go. All they needed was some of my power. Easy right? Well... once they had my power... they sure didn't fuckin need me." She noted, leaning against the counter and rubbing her eyes. "What does that have to do with anything yo u might ask? Well, when they took all that. They took my soul. Stuffed me in a little pill. And were going to break me. Chuck me in the fire. The only reason I escaped was dfumb luck. An after that, I escaped by hiding myself in a doll." she paused, looking to him.

"Tomo panicked. Like well, they all do. I didn't just rip her out of her body for shits and gigs. She did something bad. And as a part of a rather semilegal operation involving a lot of spiritually gifted people. Well.... when people get scared, they do stupid things. so whenever one of us fucks up. I serve as.... a jailer." She shrugged. "Twenty four hours to cool their head. Fourty eight sometimes. But that's it. Long enough for her not to go hurting anyone. I know it seems extreme, but it's saved a lot of people from trouble since we started doing it." she paused, thinking it over.

"Besides. I don't have a body of my own. So I'm leveling with you. I'm not all that upset when stuff like this happens. For a night, I get to not look like a clown." she noted seriously, looking off to the side. "Tomo cools her head. And I get to feel normal for a night." She noted softly, picking up her drink and sipping it once before setting it down. "Besides. It's not like she's trapped here inside with me. The soul gets jeected, like a second body. She's with some of her friends. Theyve probably already talked her down already, but we still wait just to be sure." she shrugged, eyeing Luke for a moment.

"Then again. I guess I sound a bit stupid. You have your own body. Not like you gotta way weeks on end for someone to screw up so you can taste open air." Unaware that while she was right about Luke not being able to sympathize, there was someone else in the boy's head who might. "Whatever kid. You wanna leave, go ahead and leave." she noted softly, turning away and sitting firmly at the stool, her head slightly lowered as she spoke. "Horace, gimme another drink. Then show the kid out." She murmured, looking down at her hand for just a moment. Looking at her own, slim, manicured hand. Or rather. Someoneelse's hand. Served her right for trying to enjoy herself.

Didn't matter whose body she was in. What kinda statue she squeezed herself into. What brand of pretty girl she slid into. Even on nights like tonight she didn't get to act normal.

[Deleted]

He didn't need to get his bike replaced. He didn't need any sort of compensation for what happened to him this evening. All Luke needed, all he wanted, was to go home and go to sleep. And, in the morning, he would have a serious sit down session with himself over whether or not to leave this crazy ass bullshit city behind and heading straight back to the states. Forget about finding his mom or whoever it was that he was supposed to look for. A year and a half of living in this shit city and Luke hadn't gotten any closer to obtaining closure or, really, any sort of clue as to what happened to his mom or who this mystery person was. But as Luke was heading towards the door, he suddenly felt a hand gripping his shoulder. " Are we gonna fight?" For a second he panicked, afraid for what Taka might be planning to do with him, and he found himself being spun.

But instead of saying the magic words, his hand having tightened around the matchbox in his pocket, Luke stared into Takas blue eyes and at the expression she was giving him. Why did it feel that everything had changed? The flirty, happy, girl he'd been talking to seemed to be gone completely. Even the way she was talking to him now was different. But, Luke was quiet. He blinked, giving her a surprised face as she began to spill her guts for him. She began to tell him her story, about the friend that was taken from her decades ago by Shinigami, how they used her and stuffed her into...a pill? "A....pill? You're a pill?" Luke asked almost like he didn't believe her...but actually thinking about it and listening to the remainder of what she had to say added some credibility to her story in his eyes.

As Taka spoke it brought memories to Lukes head. When he was hanging out with the Shinigami, Yetsuna Yishnir, he had watched her do something odd. She had swallowed something when they were on the bridge, something that ejected her soul body from the physical vessel she was wearing...but that vessel still moved and acted on its own. Was...Taka something like that? What Yetsuna swallowed did look like a pill, now that Luke thought about it more clearly. Was Taka some sort of Shinigami creation that got betrayed? Zaluu began to finally explain it to Luke. She finally began to explain what the body controlling thing was for.

It wasn't for shits and giggles. It wasn't because Taka "just did it for kicks." It was a penalty for her racers fucking up big time. Time out in the ultimate sense. She did it to keep things in line and was intending to give the body back. Luke was both relieved to hear that, as well as the fact that the originals soul was hanging out with people that cared about her. So...it's not like Taka killed the people. When Taka took control of a body, the original soul basically just became a ghost until Taka was out. Luke felt a pit growing inside his stomach. He actually...felt like shit for thinking Zaluu some sort of alien monster. Taka wanted a night to feel normal and Luke shat all over that.

Lukes expression had softened as he looked at her, watching her and listening to her. The tension in his body was gone, she would have noticed, and Luke actually had a sympathetic look on his face. That last line she said. "Not like you gotta way weeks on end for someone to screw up so you can taste open air." Was something that got a reaction out of Luke. He couldn't understand from her perspective, but what he did understand was that Jägers presence became exceptionally quiet when they both heard that. ...you...okay Jäger? Luke suddenly asked, an odd concern for the entity coming over him. "...." The silence caused Luke to worry, and he quickly repeated the question. "I'm fine. I'm just...busy staring at her tits. Is Lukykin senpai worrying about Jäger-chan?" His stupid jokes didn't carry the same tone they usually did.

Taka seemed finished with him, however, claiming that if he wanted to leave then he could. He had until Horace prepared her next drink to decide. What was he going to do? Luke looked at the back of her head for a moment, before looking at the Exit sign above the door. "..." Luke raised his hand to the man named Horace, his index finger extended so he could get one more round of the beer he just had. Luke found himself sitting next to Taka, looking down at his hands that he rested on the counter and were busy picking at each other's thumb nails. "I'm sorry. You were straight with me so...I'll be straight with you. I thought you were some alien brain slug. Fuckin stupid now that I think about it. All this stuff is new to me, scary at times." Luke explained as he shook his head. "Sometimes it feels like I got dropped in a god damn shark tank with no cage."

"So...racing. What else would be a good idea for me to know before I said yes?"

["Taka" Sar]

Zaluu paused, her head tilting a little as she noticed the young man sitting beside her, a soft little smile forming on her lips as she shook her head, sighing at the young man and rubbing her cheek. "It's fine bucko. It Is a big bomb to drop. I just thought like other spiritual humans you was kinda in touch with what was around. Not to mention you live in Karakura, the biggest hotspot for this kinda shit.." She paused, stroking her chin idly for a moment before waving a hand.

"Don't sweat the race. I think we have more important things to work on... First and foremmost, figuring out what you are, as you clearly don't know. From there, I can get a better feel of how to handle ya." She noted with a wise nod of her head, getting up to her feet and smiling. "'sides, Wouldn't want you getting too Tired before the night is out." She chuckled, curling a finger for him to follow as she led him off to the side, toward a rather plain looking door. "First thing's first. We gotta do something about that sleeping spirit of yours." She noted.

Of course it didn't really occur to her what Luke was. She assumed he was some kinda fullbringer, MAYBE a quincy. They were pretty common around these parts after all. Most of the time you could run into one and not even know. Decent people, so long as they weren't part of the Reich. Otherwise she had no reservations. Besides, if Luke HAD been vandereich he certainly wouldn't be as dense as he was about spiritual things. At the very least hed know about mod souls, which Luke evidently did not. Speaking of, there was.....well... no. That wasn't likely. Mod souls....were too exotic. He would know if he was one.

[Deleted]

Luke was relieved to hear that Taka was more than willing to accept Luke's apology and to let the awkwardness they had just a few moments go drop like it didn't happen. Luke being honest and explaining the reason for his reaction was enough to seemingly get back on Takas good side, and as she spoke to him it became clear she understood where he was coming from. "I've been trying to avoid getting involved in the spiritual side of things until recently. Things didn't...go so well at first." Luke commented as a response to what Taka said to him. It was true that living in Karakura was an odd choice for someone who hadn't been involved in the spiritual world for long, but Luke living in this city wasn't exactly something he just randomly chose.

Taka made a comment about Luke not needing to worry about racing at the moment. Instead she wanted to start trying to figure out exactly just what it was Luke could have been. This prompted a raised eyebrow out of the young man. What did she mean by how to handle him? He didn't see himself as anything difficult to handle. Wasn't like he was Impossible who just constantly leaked spiritual energy around him. "It's been awhile since we've seen the bug zapper." Jäger decided to comment. Maybe he's busy dating that red headed Shinigami? Nah. Impo didn't seem like the type. Taka invited him to follow after her with a flick of her finger and mentioned how she wanted to wake up Luke's sleeping spirit. What did she mean by that?

Following her towards a plain looking door, Luke looked at the woman for a moment before deciding it best to make a comment. "What do you mean by waking up my spirit? Do you mean spirit energy? Because if that's the case you might be surprised to hear that I already know how to use it!" Luke said with a little bit of pride in himself in his voice. "Even taught myself a few tricks as well. Had two Shinigami, and a guy who called himself a Fullbringer, show me the steps and I learned from there. Didn't want to end up Hollow chow." Luke explained. Granted, maybe telling Taka that he had some budding relationships with two Shinigami wasn't a good idea but, well, he decided that being honest with her would be a better idea than lying. "Senpai, tell her about me~" No. "Oh come on. She's over here wanting to figure out just what kinda weirdo you are! If you tell her about ol' Jäger-kun then it'll be easier!" Only if I have to. I don't like the idea of people knowing I hear voices in my head.

["Taka" Sar]

Zaluu quirked a brow at that, her head canting slightly to the side as he asked the question. Admittedly it was a bit of a reasonable one, if he had access to his spiritual power then really he was all set. She paused, looking off to the side. She did have to admit, she felt.... jealous. She herself had only barely been able to get her own powers to wake up. Alofasudden she actually felt jealous. She glanced in his direction, her face showing nothing of these feelings.

She actually wondered. Should she have sought out power? She had managed to make her racing a success, but at what cost? She'd been so focused on helping those around her get strong that she had left herself in something of a vacuum. The fact was that even in her wildest dreams she couldn't imagine being as powerful as some of the beings that even fought NEAR the area. The weight of spiritual pressure, even far away, did still trickle to the location now and then. And it was never a really pleasant experience.

"Huh... lucky you." She thought softly to herself, taking just a moment to peer slightly at Luke for a moment as she folded her arms. "I honestly don't have access to... well much of my powers at all. I can be used like a body babysitter but... well.. that's it." She murmured softly, feeling weird now as it was very apparent that Luke probably had much more ability with his powers than she did. A disgustingly depressing thought to have floating around her brain. She rubbed her eyelids and grumbled gently.

She paused, looking in his direction and flexing her reiatsu for a moment, that fine pink glow rippling along her body as she eyed him from where she stood. Lifting a palm, she let her reiatsu roar to life in her palm, forming a sphere of spiritual energy. But what could she do with it? Even if she slammed it into Luke with all she had it probably wouldn't do much of anything. The best she had a chance to do was just flex her power and hope he fell on something sharp.

She sighed. "Beh. I'm getting too used to having bodyguards around me all the damn time." She murmured irritably, lightly patting the side of her cheek and furrowing her brows a bit. Well... technically speaking, she DID know how she might be able to appropriate a body. She paused, humming softly to herself as she actually took a while to think about it. "Then again. I DO have some uses... How is your stance on natural history and borrowing it?" she asked inquisitively.

(Been training for CTP btw)

[Deleted]

Did he say something wrong? It seemed that right after telling her he had learned how to use spiritual powers there was a slight...shift...in her tone and body language. Luke blinked, tilting his head to the side slightly as he began to wonder if he said something wrong. Taka then spoke again, commenting how Luke was lucky? She began to explain how she herself didn't have access to her own powers besides being the jailer of her people. "You monster you hurt her feelings!" Did he? He didn't meant to! Luke thought Taka was some kind of walking god or something compared to him! "Hey, Taka I..." Luke began to say but had to stop when she suddenly extended an arm towards him.

He could feel the flow of her spiritual energy being focused and directed into her outstretched palm and before long could see her energy with his own eyes manifesting in her hand. But Luke wasn't actually concerned. He looked at the energy, then to her and wondered what she was doing. But it vanished when Taka complained about being used to having bodyguards, which caused Luke to just chuckle a little. "Listen, I didn't mean to make you feel bad. I'm not exactly a pro at any of this, but I wouldn't mind helping you out with waking your powers up!" Luke said with a friendly tone. What the hell was he offering?

"Are you asking her out?" What? No? I barely know her! She just seems down about not having her own powers. "It's just weird seeing you offer to help someone with anything spirit related. You're usually so hesitant about it or adamantly against it."/ Well...maybe it's time to change that? If I kept going the way I was going I wouldn't have met Aevus or Yetsuna, I wouldn't be able to defend myself and other people from Hollows. Hell, maybe digging my way into the spiritual side of things will give me a clue to finding mom. "Awww my little Lukykins is growing up. Now let her milk your ba-"

"Hmm? What do you mean? Natural history? Like dinosaurs and shit?"

["Taka" Sar]

Zaluu smiled a little at that. "Yes, like dinosaurs. You see, while I also borrow the bodies of others, I can ALSO steal anything vaguely body-like. So say, if we got our hands on a small dinosaur skeleton. I could use it as a body. And we could go hunting." She noted with a sly smile, giving Luke the biggest sly grin she could manage. Of course she left out that she couldnt inhabit anything too big. But she figured that wouldnt be too much of a downer.

On the other hand she did wonder just what she'd do once she was able to attain this body. Reasonably speaking she would probably have to figure something out in the ways of actual combatative abilities. She didn't have access to her ability yet, but even when she did she imagined that it would be a bit of a pain in the ass to actually fight with it for a while. This meant that she would need to actually come up with ways to fight in the meantime.

"Also If you could show me some of your moves that would be pretty helpful. I haven't ever fought or anything so a lesson or two wouldn't go amiss." She noted with a smile. She probably woudlnt be able to use abilities like his, but it would be something to have a baseline. She paused, letting her Mod Roots extend from her palm, tasting the air to some extent as she began to feel out her abilities. She'd have to think of something...

[Deleted]

Luke raised an eyebrow at her. "Why a skeleton though? Unless you can give it flesh and muscles you're not really going to look intimidating. I'd honestly laugh at a talking skeleton." "Spoopy scary skeleton sending shivers down your spine." "Why not just use one of those big plastic replicas you see hanging around zoos and aquariums? Wait...are we actually talking about stealing a dinosaur skeleton?" Luke suddenly asked, giving Taka a confused look. How did they go from talking about Luke signing on to be a racer to...stealing dinosaur bones? The hell was happening tonight? Luke only had a beer and a half so he couldn't have actually been drunk.

Luke blinked a bit when he heard that Taka actually had never fought before. Why did that sound so strange coming from her? Luke would have figured that anyone on the spiritual side of the world would have had experience with fighting. But, then again, Taka did mention a few moments earlier how she had become too used to having bodyguards around. What the hell was this night becoming? It was becoming more and more ridiculous as it went on. The rather plain and empty room they were now in was far enough away from the music and night life that Luke was able to empty out his head as he walked around the room a bit. Man this night is getting weird.. He commented to himself as he stretched.

"So you wanna see my moves huh? Like I said, I'm not any kind of professional ghost fighter and what I have is self taught. So...it's basically a newbie learning from a novice." Luke chuckled while rubbing the back of his head. An idea started to form in his head, one that could lead to both Taka getting the training she wanted but could also horribly backfire and ruin any chances Luke had of improving this growing relationship he was starting with her. Taka would see the young man cross his arms in contemplation and thought, his face being able to be read like a book. He let out a groan as he closed his eyes, stretching his lips as if the thoughts he were thinking were uncomfortable. "Alright...gonna put that idea in the back of my head for awhile." Luke decided, earning himself a groan from the other one.

"So I don't know if you can do it, but there's this trick I learned awhile back that has to do with sending spirit energy into your legs. You send it there, then you...I guess kick? Like this." Luke explained the best he could before he suddenly vanished for a moment, appearing beside Taka instead of where he was a moment ago across the room. "Why don't you give it a try?"