How To Train A Hollow

[Ailene Haschiro]

Rēgīna. A local tea shop that had seemingly come out of nowhere. Serving tea and various baked goods, it was a charming local shop. To add to this, the proprietor of Rēgīna was the most unlikely individual, at least in the spiritual realm. Ailene Haschiro, the Septima Espada of Las Noches. An anomaly, even among Arrancar, Ailene simply wanted to live a peaceful and carefree life. This desire along with the Invesment from her friend, Orbas, allowed Rēgīna to become more than just a dream. It was finally her reality. The Espada was not sure how long that they had been open. She did not really care. She simply loved lifting the spirits of those who decided to take a seat.

Today, however, was a quiet day. It was already half past noon and few people had come in for more than a cup of tea. It was Ailene's most dreaded day. Sunday. The one day of the week when people preferred to lounge around at home and not leave their house. There were a few exceptions, but in general, it was rare to find someone even roaming the streets. Regardless, the bell rang occasionally to alert Ailene of a new customer or even a returning patron arrived. This time, it would be more than that. As Ailene lifted her eyes, she'd see a familiar face. "Hello Miss Ailene. I'm ready for my first day of work!" The woman grinned at Ailene.

This woman's name was Amber. She attended Rēgīna quite frequently, always staying more hours at a time. In fact, Ailene sometimes worried that she would spend days in the shop if she didn't have to close up for the night. Over time, the Amber and Ailene had grown rather close. She began to learn more and more about the girl. She was a student at the local University. Originally from the United States, she came to Karakura to study Law. It was a field that Ailene had much respect for. She definitely could have used a good lawyer when she came to legal blows with another proprietor. Something about the trademark of discount names she was going to use. Not wanting to deal with the headache, Ailene simply conceded her use of them.

The Arrancar smiled at the red-headed girl, standing no more than 5'5". "Well, you surely picked an interesting day to work here, Amber." She looked around facetiously and sighed. "Oh well. I'll take all the help I can get." She smiled at the young woman who then proceeded to return the warm smile. "Uniforms are in the back. Look for the door at the end of the hall to your left." She smiled and returned to heating some water and laying out a cup with a teabag gently resting within it. "Yes Miss Ailene! I'll be ready in a moment." Before she could walk through the door behind the counter. "Just Ailene please. I may be your boss now, but we are friends." 

Smiling and returning to work, Amber simply nodded and went into the back. It wouldn't take her more than a few minutes to get ready and soon she'd return, standing behind the counter in her Rēgīna uniform. Ailene looked over at her and smiled. "It certainly looks good on you." There was not one single attempt at deceit in Ailene's voice. She truly meant it. Meanwhile, the hot water settled to a calm boil. Ailene gently grabbed hold of the heated pot. With a calm hand, the Espada poured the hot water into the teacup. Steam rose as it filled, the tea bag idling in the water. She'd place a spoon next to the cup. Moving to the display case, she'd grab some mochi ice cream and place it in a bowl next to the steaming cup.

With little hesitation, the Arrancar drifted to Amber and offered her the tray. She'd smile at the woman. "Well. As your first task, I'd like to see how you handle a simple order." Amber hesitantly took the tray, looking at the figure in the distance. An elderly man sat there, waiting patiently. Amber's eyes widened for a moment. Ailene couldn't help but giggle softly. She placed her hand onto the young girls' shoulder and smiled. "Just act natural. You've seen the way I do it. Just walk over there and set it down before him. Introduce yourself. Give a smile. Just act natural. I'm sure you'll do great." Returning her smile, Amber simply nodded.

Ailene watched from behind the counter as the woman slowly approached the man, careful not to spill anything. As she approached, he looked up at her. It was her first time and she stammered out her name and the other. Her hand shook the entire time, placing the cup of tea and bowl of mochi before him. She bowed and excused herself, earning a raised eyebrow and a soft chuckle from the elder. It was clear that she was nervous. Skittering back towards the Espada, Amber looked like she was about to fall over from anxiety. Ailene chuckled softly and shook her head. "Well... at least you brought him his order. Just relax, Amber. We try not to stress here." She gave her a reassuring nod before tapping her nails on the counter. She was eager to see who else would drop by. 

[Nakajima Kimiko]

The Soul Society was at peace. For the first time in what appeared to almost be downright ages, it seemed as though nothing actually decided to attack the main installations of the Gotei 13. There was no great Hollow who had decided to go hunt souls for sport, no demon who had the gull to flee their eternal constraints in order to spread their misery onto others. There was not even an ongoing attack that could be considered as anything major within the celestial realm or the Living World. All there was were a few Hollows here and there, nothing more than scraps that could be eliminated by a single Shinigami or, at worse, a small-scaled squadron of three or four. To say that this was a breath of fresh air for the souls who remained within the afterlife guarded by the Shinigami after all that's been happening lately couldn't be an any bolder understatement. There were a few who referred to this period as but a brief moment of peace, and so they remained constantly vigilant and alert, and there were another few who used this moment of peace to dedicate their time for other things.

Kimiko, the Third Seat of the Eleventh Division, could be considered as being part of the first few. After she was able to acquire her dojo within the 40th district of the western side of Rukongai, the scarlet-eyed officer has been working relentlessly to build it up to the standard she wished it to reach. She oversaw the complete removal of the pieces of the pagoda she had destroyed after the dojo was given to her, saw the complete renovation of the school into something brand new in order to allow the villagers of the district to move on, and then began teaching classes both for complete beginners to swordsmanship and those who were more advanced. All the while, she even made efforts to personally meet the villagers to know more about them, whether it be by listening to the history of the district or by enjoying their many foods. Turns out, once the other districts starting bringing food from elsewhere, the district's chefs were capable of making more than just rice.

What this one officer had done for the 40th western district could only be described as herculean. It has only been a few years in Kimiko's eyes since she and Celes went to bring the demon to the villagers, and yet in that singular span of time, she had not only become the district's hero, but also a great friend and master to many. Her dojo has even already started to grow in size, with people from other districts and even Shinigami from the holy city deciding to become her student. The once-negative rumors about the school who only spoke of its terrible influence over the land became positive, and with this positiveness, many of those who traveled the celestial realm began to refer to the 40th district as the "Capital of Swordsmanship". The officer, of course, never acknowledged the nickname as she found it to be somewhat ridiculous, but it actually stuck with the people from abroad. Such was the quality of her teachings and the philosophy she has shared to the warriors under her care.

But for as revered as her school became over the course of time, it would become apparent to even her students that the task of supporting such a rising school may be very difficult for a woman of her caliber. Kimiko - for as great as a teacher she surprisingly ended up becoming for someone who was previously known to be more of an antisocial person - was a Shinigami, and therefore needed to adhere to a schedule in order to be able to still be considered a proper fit for the Gotei 13. This was normal, of course, as every officer obviously needs to attend to their given duties; after all, it would be greatly irresponsible for an officer to do nothing on the job, especially someone like Kimiko who held such a high position within the Eleventh Division. The problem was that the woman's current schedule was, well, to pardon one's French... batshit insane. Just taking a look at it would make many who were not used to hold such schedules faint from sheer disbelief.

On the regular, her days would be represented by the following activities. In the early morning, she wakes up and eats breakfast before then completing her paperwork, something which takes her between one to three hours depending on the severity of the work, before she then eats lunch, enters her Inner World and begins training with her Zanpakuto spirits. This training lasts for many more hours until the end of the afternoon, which is the time when she exists Seireitei and heads towards the 40th western district. Fortunately, she uses Hohō to cross this distance, but to do so is such that one could consider simply crossing it being a form of intense training. Once she has reached the district, she then greets the villagers, sometimes taking the time to have conversations with them before then heading towards the dojo and beginning her classes. These classes would take four hours, and would see Kimiko drift from building to building behind the dojo's walls within the courtyard. Should completing these classes be impossible, she would have another teacher with her, who most often than not ends up being Emile - the strongest disciple she currently has under her wing - or a few of her squadmates from the Eleventh Division whom she personally invited to attend to her dojo. Finally, after the classes are complete, she spends the rest of her evening within the village before then heading back towards Seireitei and falling asleep.

The Shinigami has always told her students that she was fine and could handle her schedule. It was not the first crazy schedule she has had, and quite frankly, she has long gotten used to not having any free time at all. Nevertheless, they would all insist to take at least some rest from time to time in order to not overexert herself. On one hand, she was a bit embarrassed by the fact that her students cared so much. It was like she had become a part of a great family that couldn't help but always worry about her, something which made her feel warm on the inside. On the other hand, she couldn't help but have the sentiment that she was being treated like some of feeble child who would break apart after a single fall. She was a proud Shinigami, a Third Seat! If her body would break so easily, she wouldn't be a member of the Gotei 13! Hell, physically, she was still very much in her prime! It wasn't like she was a thousand years old like the teachers of the Academy! She was just thirty! Or forty. Or... fifty? Well, she still looked like she was in her twenties, so she was still fine!

Unfortunately, she would never have the audacity to tell her students such things, and so she would stay quiet until their suggestions would simply become too much for her to ignore. On one faithful day, she promised the people of the 40th western district of Rukongai that she would go on vacation, and so the following day, she would tell her coordinator, Jin, that she wanted to take a small break. She told him that it would be no longer than two weeks, and that the Gotei 13 would be able to contact her at any given moment should things suddenly go awry. Having been aware of Kimiko's crazy schedules, the coordinator did not mind her suddenly taking a vacation; if anything, for her well-being, he was pleasantly surprised she even took one to begin with. However, once she told him where she wanted to go for her vacation, he would instantly realize that she wasn't really going on vacation out of her complete free will. That destination, you may ask? It was none other than Karakura Town, the current Jūreichi, and therefore the one place in the world which was most infested with common Hollows for the Shinigami to slaughter if she ever found herself too disconnected from her training.

Of course, this was not entirely accurate. There was unsurprisingly more to this choice than it seemed. For many years, the swordswoman has felt herself becoming progressively disconnected from the Living World due to her extensive time spent within the Soul Society. Before she began even thinking about vacationing there, she could not remember the last time she had gone there to spend her time casually. Hell, the only times she could remember spending there on that level was back when she was alive, which was a long time ago. As such, this was why among the main reasons why she wanted to go to Karakura Town, and not a place like Rukongai. She wanted to see how much the world had changed on the smaller side of things, beyond the Hollows and the transferring of souls from there to the Soul Society; after all, a lot of things has happened since she herself has become a Plus. For all she knows, there's probably a bunch of new bits of technology that were released while she was not looking, and manga, and video games.

But the woman did not feel as though she needed to reveal that particular reason to Jin. Though she definitely considered him her comrade, she believed that this reason of hers didn't really need to be said. She could not say why: she simply felt like it was how she was meant to treat it. Fortunately, the man did not show any attempt to push himself onto that subject, and so the Third Seat's vacation would begin the very next day. At noon, she was promptly granted a gigai which was still an idea that was just as creepy as the last time she found herself learning about them, a small apartment for her to reside in, a bunch of clothes for her to wear, some Yen bills and coins, and a small box of Gikongan alongside a portable dispenser which resembled candies and was also just as creepy as the last time she found herself learning about them. She was at first a bit surprised that the Gotei 13 actually gave her so much, though she was rapidly able to realize that it was only because of her rank that they were doing so. Oh well. At least she'll be able to do whatever she wants.

And so, this was why the Third Seat of the Eleventh Division - this one Shinigami considered a wild beast by a many Shinigami and many more Hellions down below - was currently walking down the streets what could only be considered as somewhat-masculine casual wear. She wore a black shirt with the words "FIGHT ON!!" written down onto it in big bold red letters alongside dark blue jeans and sport shoes, all of which gave off a certain vibe that fitted well with the slightly-unkempt hair that she has permitted to grow ever-so-slightly longer. Attached to her right wrist was a modern electronic watch showing her the time, and within her side pocket was located her Gikongan dispenser. Considering what the woman was used to wear on a daily basis back in the Soul Society, this was something akin to a blast to the past for her. It was a strange feeling, and even as she stepped forward onto the sidewalk, she would lightly stretch herself from time to time in order to get her body used to both the fact that she was in a gigai and a fabric. "This is so weird... I know they want them to be authentic, but..." she would groan quietly in a mumble as she tried to move her hand rapidly. "Ugh..."

Unfortunately, she could tell right away that she could not reach her maximum speed with this body, and that she might as well be a normal Human at the moment. However, at the very least, it was somewhat nice to actually be seen by other people for once. As she headed along, she would pass by many stores, many of which would have clerks tending to their duties. Some of them who were outside at the time would give her polite greetings, while others would simply stare at her. It was strange for her to not actually be bothered by that last one. Before she had become a teacher, she did not really enjoy being watched, but she now simply didn't mind it as much. Maybe it was because of how much she had gotten herself accustomed to being known within the Gotei 13 by now... or maybe it was because she could not bring herself to care about being stared at by Humans due to her usual job as a Shinigami. She hoped that it wasn't the latter reason, but a part of her believed that it was the most credible of the two.

In an attempt not to think about such things, she would turn her head towards her surroundings and clear her thoughts as she admired the view. It was rather shocking how, after all this time, the world doesn't seem to have changed that much. She could see a few skyscrapers closer to downtown she hadn't noticed the last time she visited Karakura Town, and there were a few accessories she hadn't seen that were being sold by various general stores she passed by, but otherwise, much of the place appeared the same way she first visited it. In a way, it was a bit strange and she even found this lack of development to be somewhat disappointing, but she did not question it. Perhaps the Living World grew to be a bit stagnant over the course of the last few decades since she was fully part of it. Either that, or there was something out of there that was somehow responsible for keeping track of time, but was not doing a very good job at it. Concluding that it was best that she doesn't think about such a thing too hard, she would turn her attention towards the stores once again and keep watching them.

It was a few more minutes of walking later that she would see something in particular appear at the far end of the street she was on. There was a tea shop there. "Régina", it was called. Blinking, the off-duty Shinigami would find herself approaching the shop and simply staring at it for a brief moment.  Huh... I don't remember seeing this place during my last hunt...  she wondered as she analyzed the shop. From the looks of it, it seemed to be brand new to Karakura Town, or at least that is what Kimiko could see after a brief analysis of the materials used to build the establishment and the quality of the shop sign. Though it specialized itself in serving tea, it also seemed to be a sort of bakery as well, given that they were serving some baked foods as well. Despite being in a gigai, the Third Seat still felt as though she wanted to eat something and drink the most familiar beverage, and so, feeling as though she was not going to see a similar shop any time soon in a place like this, she found herself opening the door and heading inside.

The first thing that hit Kimiko as she entered the shop was the fragrances that roamed around the shop. Instantly, she was able to recognize many scents at once. Bread, chocolate, cream, sugar, tea leaves... It was a lot of things at once, all of which were rather nice for her to experience. It definitely gave the shop a sort of warm and fuzzy feeling that she definitely could work with. The second thing that hit her was, however, the unfortunate lack of customers you wouldn't expect from such a comfortable place. At a glance, if she did not count the she could only see a single customer occupying one of the other tables, and he was an elderly man. It must be because today was a Sunday, the officer would think in the moment; after all, Sundays are more or less known to not be very active for businesses. At the very least, it appeared to be a good day to teach the new employees how to work here. The clumsy work of the redheaded waitress was a testament to that.

In any case, the scarlet-eyed woman would find herself a table to sit at near the shop's main window, then await the arrival of the waitress. She would look at the menu in the meanwhile, checking out the beverages and the dishes.  Hm... Let's see...

[Ailene Haschiro]

Ailene knew that it would take a little bit before Amber became acclimated to the social factors of being a barista. Ailene had gone to great lengths to make Rēgīna a place where everyone was welcome. A Tea house where people could discuss their days, enjoy tea and perhaps even small baked goods. As such, she strived to make it a low stress environment. For customers and workers alike. She sighed for a moment and looked at Amber with a soft smile. She placed her hand onto the shoulder of her new hire. "Look. How about you get familiarized with the shop. It's a slow day. We can take our time going through everything. Sound good?" 

The woman's eyes lit up and she nodded vigorously. "That sounds... great, Mis- I mean... Ailene." The Espada chuckled for a moment and reached down into a shelf. From the shelf, she'd get a little notepad, turning to a page with plenty of notes. The majority of it was inventory, but it was fairly exhaustive. It had little markings that showed each amount along with a detailed list of all that was offered. There were even some notes on what baked treats they stored. Amber's eyes suddenly widened at the extensive scribbles and notes. "It's been a few days since I've taken inventory. An extra pair of hands should definitely help." Grinning for a moment, Ailene motioned towards the door that led to the backroom. "Check them and just give me qualitative reports on our stock in the backroom... y'know. How much we have left in each glass jar." 

Amber nodded and clutched the notepad close to her chest. "Y.. yes Ailene!" With a spring in her step, she'd slip through the brown wooden door and head into the backroom. Ailene sighed for a moment. She knew it was not the most exciting of tasks. However, it would at least give Amber something to do. Given how slow traffic in and out of Rēgīna seemed to be, she could afford to hold down the fort on her own. She'd lean against the counter again, waiting to see who else would find themselves coming across Rēgīna. Perhaps it would be a regular? Ailene was really hoping for some new faces. It was always interesting to see what kind of characters were drawn to her tea house. 

As she waited, she peeked out the window. It was a humble view. Few larger buildings were visible in the distance, but most who looked outside would be greeted with the occasional passerby and a few houses that bordered the nearby street. Despite that, Ailene loved the location. It was not as busy as the Shopping District of Karakura. Not only did this mean less stress, but it also meant that there would likely be less Hollow activity. This was only beneficial to the Espada as it meant that less Shinigami and Vandenreich henchman would be patrolling the area. It afforded Ailene some peace and quiet. Plus, it was near the park and allowed Ailene to go of nearby strolls after work on some days. 

Suddenly there would be a familiar ring, notifying her that someone had come in not more than a few moments after Amber had gone to the backroom. Her eyes darted over to the entrance, and it would be someone new. Someone she did not recognize at the moment. The woman had walked into Rēgīna and stood there for a moment. Ailene studied her for a moment. She certainly looked adolescent. No more than early or mid-twenties? Her clothes would not say much about her age. They were fine. Her hair was slightly unkempt which made Ailene pout a little. She did not judge, but she messes were always a minor pet peeve of hers. 

Taking a seat near the window around the entrance, Ailene took a deep breath and approached the woman as she looked at the menu. Standing before the table, Ailene would be wearing her typical Rēgīna uniform. A largely white kimono with a black hem and obi that created a gradient. The uniform had a decal of white flowers across most of the chest and hem with some appearing along the sleeves. It was certainly far more form fitting than her Espada robes, but Ailene didn't mind as much. She'd introduce herself as always. "Good afternoon. My name is Ailene Haschiro; Head Barista and proprietor of Rēgīna. What ca-" 

The Espada paused for a moment. She'd look at the woman again, her scarlet red eyes a striking feature. They reminded her of a Shinigami she had met some time ago. A Kimiko Nakajima, Third Seat of the Eleventh Division. Actually... upon further inspection, the woman before her looked alot like Kimiko. Ailene's own abilities to sense reiatsu weren't refined, but the woman gave off no reiatsu. Was she hiding it? Or was it one of those gigai that she had read and heard a bit about. After the pause, she did her best to compose herself. "Please do excuse me. You wouldn't have to be Kimiko.. would you?" There was a bit of hesitation in her voice. Almost as if she was second-guessing herself. Even if Kimiko immediately recognized Ailene, she'd have a striking change of her own. Not only would the Espada be radiating no Hollow reiatsu, but she'd also be lacking a Hollow mask that once rested upon her forehead. Whether or not Ailene got a confirmation as to her identity, she'd continue with the pleasantries. After all, they were a respectable establishment. "What can I get for you? Tea? A pastry?" 

[Nakajima Kimiko]

Sitting at the table, Kimiko would continue to analyze the menu in peace, unbothered by the world surrounding her. She would look it over more than once, first starting with the front page, then ending with the last page, all the while using the quietness of the store to better immerse herself in its contents. There was admittedly more in this menu than she actually thought there would be for an establishment that appeared to be so recent, with many sections and even sub-sections. It was also presented very well too, with an elegant style that was not found very often outside of the typical maid cafés found in Tokyo. The swordswoman had to admit that she has never been much of a fan of those particular businesses even after so much time has passed since she personally saw one, seeing as they often appeared to her as less so a café and more so a public attraction for those who were into that kind of service. So far, she was glad that Régina wasn't focused on that. The reason why she could tell was because of the quality of the food displayed on the menu.

Even though this place appeared as nothing more than a small tea shop, the menu was fairly extensive. It had many beverages and many baked meals, with even a few extras like bottles of water and small candies. It was like she was staring at the menu of some kind of professional business that has been in the works for a very long time. Unsurprisingly, seeing such a large amount of items was a bit of a shock for Kimiko, as it was the last thing she expected to see in this place. It would be enough to cause her to frown before looking at the insides of the building again in a bit of disbelief. Has she overestimated the recency of the infrastructure? No. No, it still appeared to her as though it had been constructed not that long ago. Then, was it so incredibly successful that it allowed her to grow at an exponential rate? That question was harder to answer, but giving another look at the menu was enough for her to believe that it was the case. Either that, or it was affiliated to some other store somehow.

In any case, as the questions eventually subsided, she would simply find herself pushing her back against her chair and staring at the menu. It was only a matter of time before one of the people of this shop would come and ask her what she wanted to order, and she was not going to embarrass herself by choosing at the very last second. That has happened far too many times before, and frankly, she desperately wanted this hesitation of hers to stop. In so doing, she gave a good look at the beverages and the food once again. There were so many things to choose from the list. So, so many. In fact, there were so many that, for a very brief moment, this hesitation of hers would come back in full force. It was enough to cause her internal self to groan quietly.  Come on, just choose something, anything!  She heard her brain shouting at her.  There's milk tea, green tea, bubble tea and a bunch of bread! It's not hard! You literally like all of those things!

She could feel it. Again, the weight of her impeding decision would slowly press onto her shoulders. For as much as she attempted to tell herself that she liked everything and therefore could choose anything from the menu, she would unfortunately feel an effect opposite to what she really wanted. Since she liked everything, she therefore wanted to try everything, which was simply impossible with the money she currently had on her. It was an agonous process, one that progressively filled her with an amount of sheer dread that left her stressed out of her mind once again. As her heartbeat steadily increased, she simply stared at the menu almost as though she was fighting an impossible foe. Why? Why does this happen every time?! Why must she fight this powerful, yet incredibly boring enemy every day of her life?! Why must she be fated to suffer this way for eternity?! This was unfair. So, so incredibly unfair. She'll ask Binita about it once she comes back to the Soul Society.

As this ridiculous, yet fortunately quiet battle raged on, the vacationing Shinigami would continue to stare at the menu before she would feel a need to look around. It was meant to be nothing more than a mean to distract herself from the pain of being unable to actually complete a proper decision, nothing more. However, as she did so, she would find herself unconsciously raising her gaze towards her left, causing her to instantly notice that her focus was such that she had not heard someone actually coming towards her position. The fact she was not actually able to notice that someone had been coming towards her was very embarrassing on its own, and so for a brief moment, she almost felt the urge to slightly hop away in surprise on her chair. Yet as she gave a look at the person who was now standing by the side of her table, she would find herself briefly freezing and simply staring back in what could only be considered as mild confusion.

At first, she was admittedly unable to recognize her. The unsuspectingly-peaceful uniform, the lack of a mask, the complete absence of any form of corrupted spiritual energy. There was not even a hole on this person's body. Despite all of these things, the officer knew that she had met her this person and that she was not ideally meant to be in a place like this. Eventually, the person would present herself to her, and by then, Kimiko would fully realize who she was talking to. This was Ailene Haschiro, the Septima Espada of Las Noches. "... Huh..." she could only let out in the moment as the reality of what was happening slowly began to settle in. Her greeting was slow, quiet, and very clearly filled with disbelief. It would not take long at all for the Arrancar to realize that they had met each other before a long time ago, during one particular hunt. To that, Kimiko would simply answer, giving a swift look towards the redheaded waitress to see if she was close by: "Uh, yeah... I'm Kimiko. It's... been a while."

What an awkward reunion. Even the scarlet-eyed woman had to admit that the beginning of whatever conversation they were meant to have in the moment did not start on the best of footings. However, it's not like she could really blame herself for reacting the way she did. Ailene was a member of Hollowkind, more specifically one of its more powerful members. She was an Arrancar, and therefore a being who primarily exists to serve the leader of Las Noches. In so doing, no one - not even the most perceptive of prophets - would be able to predict this being suddenly finding herself in some tea shop in the middle of Karakura Town, even less so a shop that seemed to be quite successful in its own right, all the while declaring herself as its honest owner. It was the kind of development you would expect from some random comedy show you would find on a streaming service, or a gag manga that has suddenly become popular in one of those magazines, not real life.

Before she could find herself asking any questions to the woman, Kimiko would then suddenly find herself once again facing the previous threat that she had been attempting to defeat. Reminded of the fact she had not even chosen anything yet, the Shinigami would let out a simple "Ah." before she turned her head towards the menu with a look of despair once again. Damn it all! Why did that had to happen?! She needed more time! Right, right, uh... She'll choose this! "I'll take a cup of saemidori tea with cheesecake on the side," she would tell the owner as calmly as she possibly could to not appear too stressed out in front of her, then would become quiet for a moment. Since the Arrancar was on the job, Kimiko didn't really wanted to bother her, but there was a part of her that did wanted to at the very least ask a few things. Quite frankly, she was aware that the Hollow was not like her brethren and was much more friendly in comparison to the more savage kind that roam Hueco Mundo, but this was somewhat unprecedented.

[Ailene Haschiro]

Standing there, practically staring at the Third Seat, Ailene felt so disrespectful. She had asked the Shinigami for her name to confirm identity, but she was left frozen. The Espada was glad that this was on a Sunday and not in front of Amber. After all, such a horrendous display could be quite bad for business. For a moment, Ailene would stumble over herself before she finally got her answer. "Uh, yeah... I'm Kimiko. It's... been a while." The Arrancar nodded her head and smiled. Despite the initial shock, she was certainly glad to find the Shinigami here. After all, despite her initial shock, their first meeting was far from uninteresting. 

It had been some time ago during a trip to Kabukichō. It had occurred by mere happenstance. Ailene had been reminiscing, taking in the pleasant atmosphere, as Kimiko had come across her on the hunt for the hollow, Walker. Much like her experience with Camila, Ailene felt that it would be a nice change of pace to help this Shinigami on her hunt. Eventually they discovered some Black Market that specialized in selling Hollows and were forced to fight Walker after coming across a strange Fullbringer. She did not know whatever became of the Fullbringer, but they ended up purifying the Hollow by its own request. It was a strange thing. Helping Soul Society for a change, but it was not one that she inherently regretted. 

Finally, a voice would draw her from her stupor. "Ah." The Arrancar looked at the Third Seat for a moment. "What did I... Ah yes. I asking for her order..." Ready to jot it down, she listened intently, making a mark next to saemidori along with a cheesecake. She knew only a little of the brew. It could create a very rich green tea. Somewhat popular in Japan though she found that few ordered it when attending Rēgīna. Regardless, she smiled and gave a small nod after jotting everything down. "One saemidori and a cheesecake for the charming young woman." She gave a big grin before turning on her heel and walking back behind the counter.

The Arrancar would proceed to look through numerous glass jars that all had labels. Ordered alphabetically, she muttered to herself softly. "Strawberry Hibicus... Sencha... Ah.." She'd pull the jar from the shelf which read Saemidori in rather elegant cursive. Opening the jar, the Espada tilted it to allow the loose leaves to settle into a white scoop. Moving the scoop, she allowed the leaves to fall into her gaiwan. It was a lovely little tool that she had picked up ever since the opening of Rēgīna. Used in China for centuries, it had become an ideal method for drawing out the flavor of her tea. She'd get another serving of the Saemidori, letting it fall into the container.

Taking the gaiwan over to her sink, the Arrancar quickly poured some water over the leaves before letting the liquid drain. Having properly rinsed them, she took her pot of boiling water and poured it into the gaiwan, making sure to not add too much. Once she was satisfied, Ailene allowed the leaves to seep. This process would take no longer than a minute. After steeping for 45 or so seconds, Ailene gently placed the lid back on at a slight angle to create a small opening. Having a cup ready, the Espada was ready to go. She lifted and tilted the gaiwan, pouring the steaming liquid into the cup. Filling it just enough so it didn't spill, she set the tool down. 

While somewhat delicate and likely even unnecessary to some, Ailene felt that the gaiwan allowed her to draw out the purest flavor. It didn't require use of a strainer and the biggest advantage was re-seeping. Some teas were far more rich and pleasant when seeped multiple times. She had grown to prefer this method over the use of tea bags which were more convenient but did not live up to the new standard she had chosen for herself. Now that the tea was done, Ailene moved over to the display case and pulled out a pair of tongs. With it, she'd grab a slice of cheesecake and place it on a small platel, setting the delicious treat upon the tray where the Shinigami's tea resided.

Pondering for a moment, Ailene looked back at the door and sighed. While she was at it, she produced a bowl and used a scoop to get some mochi ice cream, a desert that had become a guilty pleasure of hers. Producing another tray, the Arrancar gently set the bowl of ice cream on it. Grabbing another cup, she'd also pour herself a cup of Jasmine tea which she had allowed to steep earlier. The soothing aroma of the tea paired elegantly with the sweet smell of the desert. She hummed softly, grabbing some replacement cups which she calmly placed on the second tray. Grabbing both trays, the woman moved over to the table where Kimiko sat.

She'd place the tray that had the Shinigami's tea and cheesecake before her while holding the second. "Would you mind some company...?" She gave a bright smile for a moment. "It's an uneventful day and Amber may still be a bit... Besides. It would give us an opportunity to catch up." Assuming that the Third Seat obliged her request, the Espada would take her seat across the table while setting her tray down before her. Ailene would take an idle sip from her tea, humming softly. She'd chuckle lightly. "I do hope you enjoy the tea. I find it gets better once it's steeped a few times so if it isn't to your liking, I can always give it a couple of go's." She'd grin, tapping her fingers gently along her side of the table. "So, how has life been treating you, Kimiko? I'm so glad you found the place by the way. I feared that you may not have heard the name of the house before the Garganta closed." There was a genuine smile on her face, clearly ecstatic to find the Third Seat before her. 

[Nakajima Kimiko]

Kimiko was still not quite sure of how to feel about Ailene's presence in this particular shop of Karakura Town. On one hand, she was actually glad to see this acquaintance of hers was well. It did not seem as though anything intense or wrong had happened to her after what they have achieved together so many years ago, and all in all, it seemed as though she was able to get herself something that she appeared to really enjoy. Sure, the lack of Hollow mask was somewhat odd considering that she was meant to be an Arrancar, but for all the Third Seat knew, she was most likely using some kind of gigai like hers or whatever the people of Las Noches use if they wish to be seen in the Living World. Considering she appeared to be capable of interacting with customers, it was doubtful that this was meant to be the Espada's true body, else she would have probably been criticized for having that thing dangle from her head. Better to not have the customers of such a place associate with beasts like those, after all.

On the other hand, meeting her here reminded the scarlet-eyed woman of what happened so many years ago, and she was not sure she liked being reminded of it. It was during a mission in Kabukichō that the both of them met, and during that time, the both of them uncovered a plot by a criminal organization to sell Hollows as weapons on the black market. This would have perhaps not been so bad if the corrupted creatures they were capturing had already become mindless from the hunger and were simply trained to work as such, sort of like attack dogs or other animals meant for assault operations. However, that was not their way. Instead, they captured any Hollows they could find and injected them with some kind of chemical that forced them to obey their orders. If they did not obey, they were subjected to excruciating pain until their minds gave way and they eventually followed the order, no matter what that order may be.

She could still fully remember what happened to Walker. At first, that creature was meant to only be another target for her to eliminate, nothing more. She held no personal feelings for his elimination at the time, given that he was quite the dangerous monster for the citizens of Kabukichō, and that was partly why she had asked Ailene for help when they met. In other words, she treated it all as just another fight for her to find and experience. Yet after she saw what those people had done to him after they had captured him and forced him into this inhumane slavery, those feelings of hers had changed. No longer had she felt the need to slay the beast to accomplish her mission. Instead, she had slain it to put an end to his pain. It was the first time she had hesitated before actually killing a Hollow, and also the first time she had fully concluded that no being - no matter their race and allegiance - deserved to be enslaved, not even the greatest of evil.

But at the very least, it seemed as though this was behind them to some degree. Although Kimiko herself was not sure of what happened to that despicable little Fullbringer she and Ailene both fought back then - the one that was responsible for the guarding and surveillance of the Hollow, and the administration of the accursed chemical into his body - and where he was currently located, she has not heard of the organization behind this distribution of Hollows to the black market since then. Perhaps, unlike the last time that such a thing occurred, the other divisions of the Gotei 13 were able to take care of the problem and they did not have to worry about the members of that organization anymore. She hoped that that was the case. Considering what happened to the Soul Society recently with the zombie plague that they were able able to contain within Rukongai and the demons that transformed the aforementioned town into a wasteland for years, the last thing they need to deal with is some huge nefarious threat that could cause the entire Living World to become an endless warzone.

It was by the time she imagined a world where countries would use Hollows as weapons of war that the Third Seat's mind immediately returned to reality. In her thoughtful trance, her eyes had become slightly widened and her adrenaline had started to spike. Right... a part of her wanted that. The endless warzone, that is. Ever since she was told by both Celes and her spirits that she had an Inner Hollow, she has tried to keep her adrenaline under control. The lack of any intense fighting recently with the exception of the Hellion of the 40th western district had helped her immensely alongside Taishokukane's teachings, but even so, she could still feel it from time to time. The thirst for battle, the excitement she held for bloodshed, they were both still there. She was still not sure of where they were coming from and where they where going to lead her, yet one thing was clear as time went on: she needed to keep those emotions of hers under control unless she finds herself needing to use them. If she doesn't... then the being in her dreams will mock her for it again, and again, and again. She just knew it.

Eventually, the tea and pastry that she had ordered would arrive to her table. The both of them came on a tray that the Arrancar carefully settled down on the table. By then, the vacationing Shinigami had calmed down, enough so that Ailene wouldn't have taken notice of her sudden shift in mood. For once, she was somewhat glad that she was in a gigai, as she has long since been made aware that those emotional spikes of hers she gets from time to time tend to be followed by a spike in spiritual energy. Frankly, she was somewhat surprised that this fake body could even contain all of that power without breaking apart... but not as surprised as what was currently on the tray she had ordered. The green tea she had ordered looked expertly crafted, almost like the tea Shizukakane is used to serve to her within her Inner World. It smelled nice and had a very nice, controlled temperature to it. The cheesecake also looked ravishing. She was not used to eating pastries, but this particular meal looked so tasty that she almost wanted to gulp it down.

The only thing that prevented her from doing so right away was Ailene. Unsurprisingly, the Arrancar wanted to converse with the Shinigami. She had even brought her own tray with her, which appeared to contain another cup of tea and bowl of ice cream. This request of hers would take the scarlet-eyed woman out of her food-induced reverie with enough strength to cause her appear embarrassed for a brief moment. However, she did not object to the request. It wasn't like she really had a reason to, all things considered. "Oh, sure, yeah. There... isn't a whole lot of people for me to talk to around here anyway," she would tell the head barista before grabbing her tray and carefully making some space on the table to allow the Arrancar to put her tray in front of hers. It was a bit of a blunt comment, yet she wasn't really wrong. As kind as he perhaps may be, the elderly man located a few tables away from hers probably doesn't have much to say to her.

As Ailene sat down, the Third Seat would then go on to pick up her tea cup and take a sip of the drink. Much like how the drink looked, its taste was also impeccable. It brought her previously-excited mind at an immediate ease, and filled her body with a soft warmth that reminded her of the quiet wilderness. Somehow, the tea even became better after she took a few more sips. It was just like what the owner of this little shop told her in the moment. "It's... wonderful. I don't think I've tasted tea like that in a while," Kimiko would eventually comment as she slowly settled the tea back onto the tray. Shortly after she said that, she would then pick up the small fork that had been granted to her alongside her cheesecake, then pick up a piece of it before putting it between her lips. Instantly, the insides of her mouth would be filled with melting cheese and cream, something which somehow blended well with the taste of the tea. It was just shockingly good stuff. "Hm...!" she could only mumble quietly in appreciation as she ate the piece of cake. No wonder this place built itself up so quickly. If such quality is to be expected from every meal and every beverage, then it is only a matter of time before this place somehow becomes even more successful.

She would eventually gulp down the piece of cake about right as the Arrancar began to converse with her proper. Apparently, the woman was very happy to see that Kimiko had been able to actually find the tea shop by recalling its name. Hearing that she was so glad made the Third Seat feel a pinch in her chest. She hadn't actually remembered the name of the shop or even the fact that Ailene had told her she wanted to build up a tea shop. Her stumbling here was nothing more than a complete coincidence. Nevertheless, for as blunt as she sometimes was, the off-duty officer didn't want to say that to the woman's face, and so she would simply smile. "It's been a while, but I was still able to remember it. It's just that... a lot has been happening lately, and I didn't really have the time in hand to come visit," she would explain as straightly as she possibly could. Those words of hers weren't entirely truthful, especially the first part, but at least the last part allowed her to be a little bit more honest. "We've had to deal with two massive attacks in a row some time ago, and it took a lot for us to deal with that..."

For a moment, the officer would not say anything, appearing a bit more distant. Without mentioning what happened with her Inner Hollow and the spirits with her Zanpakuto completely, the zombie plague and the demonic invasion were both still fresh on her mind despite having occurred several years ago now. Though she had enjoyed the battles she's had during them, she could still remember the devastation that had been left behind. Back then, she had not cared at all about the people that had died. However, becoming a teacher and confronting her negative emotions with Taishokukane has allowed her to progressively begin to defeat this lack of care. In fact, just thinking about the people of the 40th western district of Rukongai was enough to make her smile a bit. "Anyway, that was some time ago. I myself am doing better today. I began teaching swordsmanship to people. It's a lot of work, but I can manage it," she would tell the barista with a happier tone. It was very clear that she liked being a teacher. With that said, her eyes would then present a bit of comical bother to the table. "My students wanted me to take a break, though... so yeah, that's mainly why I'm here. I told them I was okay, but they just kept... insisting."

The way she said that last word truly showcased the tiredness she had felt at the time of hearing the suggestion. In a way, it somewhat revealed a social weakness of hers to Ailene, which was that she was just impatience in front of people that keep insisting things over and over. However, she didn't care at all about the consequences of that right about now. To her, this was just a normal conversation, and she felt she needed to say that to someone that was at least trustworthy in her eyes.

[Ailene Haschiro]

"Oh, sure, yeah. There... isn't a whole lot of people for me to talk to around here anyway," Ailene simply nodded and sat down, setting her tray down before her. Despite the fortune of getting to share a cup of tea with an acquaintance, Ailene appeared slightly melancholy in the moment. After all, Rēgīna had a notable lack of people. With Kimiko and the elder sitting on opposite sides of the room, it provided little opportunity for the Third Seat to speak with anyone else. Besides, she knew the man a little. The two of them had their idle conversations and he preferred the peace and quiet of Sunday at Rēgīna compared to the other busier days.

Regardless, Ailene would make the best out of it and take an opportunity to really get to know Kimiko in a less professional fashion. Last they met, they were the Third Seat of the Eleventh Division and the Septima Espada of Las Noches. Now they could understand each other as Kimiko and Ailene without something like rank and allegiance standing in the way. Taking a sip of her Jasmine tea, Ailene felt many of her worries wash away as she hummed softly. She'd address the taste of the tea which got better the more times it was steeped. Her purple eyes focused on Kimiko and then on the occasional passerby. As Kimiko spoke, however, she'd return her focus back to her companion. "It's... wonderful. I don't think I've tasted tea like that in a while,"

Ailene's eyes lit up for a moment. A noticeable flush appeared on her cheeks. As Kimiko sat her tea down and proceeded to descend upon the cheesecake, Ailene couldn't help, but watch. Her reaction the desert was equally flattering. "Hm...!" The Arrancar could feel the warmth of her satisfaction. She'd continue to blush and finally smile. "Well... I'm glad that you enjoy it. In truth, I care more about what you thought of the tea rather than the cake.." She'd giggle softly. "I get the pastries from another vendor, but the tea is all brewed by me." She'd gently tap her fingers along the table. It was clear that she took great pride in her tea. It was a craft that she had been honing for many years even before she decided to open Rēgīna.

Both of their satisfaction aside, Ailene decided to guide the conversation. After all, she was eager to hear how Kimiko was doing. She was even happier that the Shinigami was able to find the place. As Kimiko spoke though, Ailene took note of her. "It's been a while, but I was still able to remember it. It's just that... a lot has been happening lately, and I didn't really have the time in hand to come visit," Perhaps it was just the subtleties of her body language... Ailene was not sure, but something felt off about it. She just couldn't put her finger on what. Regardless, she wouldn't make a big deal out of it. She'd continue smiling and nodded in response to the Shinigami's explanation. 

Suddenly the tone of the conversation shifted. "We've had to deal with two massive attacks in a row some time ago, and it took a lot for us to deal with that..." The Arrancar fell silent for a moment, matching Kimiko. She nodded for a moment and took a small sip of her tea. How long ago had it been? The Espada was not sure anymore. After setting her cup down, she spoke in a tone as sympathetic as she could muster. "Ah yes. The invasion by Hell..." She paused for a moment, collecting her thoughts. "I was passing by in the Rukongai after the Invasion. Much was still in disrepair, but it looked to be shaping up. I can't even imagine the untold destruction that was caused initially during the course of such a battle..."

She'd grow silent once more, but not for comfort. She was ruminating. Her friend, the Hellion who had made her dream possible, was also responsible for the brutal invasion of Soul Society. For all of their faults though... despite some of their disagreements, Ailene deeply cared for her Akki friend. She was not sure what had become of him after the invasion. After all, he had not met up with her in some time. In some ways, Kimiko proved to be the best source of information that the Arrancar had at the moment. Something was holding her back though. Would Kimiko be willing to provide her with the information she sought? If she even knew of what became of Orobas? Would she condemn Ailene like the forces of Hell who ravaged the Soul Society? The Arrancar wasn't sure. For now... she would just keep quiet. Allow her calm disposition to mask her concern. 

Thankfully the conversation would soon move on. "Anyway, that was some time ago. I myself am doing better today. I began teaching swordsmanship to people. It's a lot of work, but I can manage it," Ailene blinked for a moment. She'd peer at the Third Seat before grinning. "Well I am glad to hear that you find yourself doing better now..." She'd pause before switching gears, focusing on this school of hers. "Teach swordsmanship, huh? What a fascinating occupation." She'd continue grinning for a moment before settling back to a mere smile. She'd listen as Kimiko continued. "My students wanted me to take a break, though... so yeah, that's mainly why I'm here. I told them I was okay, but they just kept... insisting."

Something about it amused Ailene. It gave Ailene some insight into Kimiko. Nothing negative. Just a social awkwardness that Ailene had come to know during the last mission together. She continued tapping her fingers along the table, cupping her own chin with her other hand. "I see. Well it's quite a shame. You seem passionate about it." For a moment she'd focus on her tapping as she collected her thoughts before continuing. "I assume that this dojo resides in the Rukongai?" That persistent smile didn't diminish. "We have a local dojo here in Karakura. Arisawa Dojo. Some of their students come here often and tell me about it. Apparently, they practice Ken... something there." It would be no secret that Ailene was inept in the martial arts just based off of this single comment. "Some of them ask me to come along every now and then, but... I fear that swordsmanship is lost on me." She'd chuckle somewhat. "I can't say that I'd be against learning it, but I'd be afraid of accidently releasing too much pressure and crushing everyone in the room..." She'd chuckle somewhat, treating such a potentially serious topic as just another avenue of conversation. 

[Nakajima Kimiko]

Kimiko was not too surprised to hear that the pastry that had been served to her actually wasn't made by Ailene. It was admittedly something that she found to be somewhat disappointing, especially since bringing food from another vendor means that the food becomes somewhat less fresh and appetizing due to importation and what-not. Ultimately, however, she did not really mind it. Though this place served pastries, it was clear that it wasn't a bakery by nature. It was a tea shop, and tea shops make tea; after all, the word was right there in their name. In so doing, it only made sense for Ailene to prefer being complimented for the quality of her saemidori tea rather than the quality of the cheesecake the Third Seat had ordered. Still, in spite of the fact that the cake hadn't been made by the barista, its taste remained at a standard that fitted Régina. In the end, given what this business was supposed to be, that's all that mattered. 

In any case, for a brief moment, it almost appeared as though the Septima Espada was able to spot the Third Seat's lie. She was giving her a bit of a look as she spoke her words, and quite frankly, the more that she was being stared at in such an analytical way, the more worried Kimiko became that the truth about the fact she had forgotten the shop's existence would have been found out. Fortunately, such a thing did not occur, as from then on out, the conversation shifted towards the subject of the Soul Society and the latest attacks that have been conducted onto it. A part of the Third Seat was very glad that Ailene did not accuse her of having actually forgotten the establishment. The last thing she wanted to deal with right about now during her vacation was social drama between herself and an Arrancar, of all people. However, as their conversation would proceed, she would find herself taking note of Ailene's knowledge of the demonic invasion.

"You heard about it?" She would find herself asking out of curiosity, wondering how Ailene was even able to actually learn of what happened. As far as she was aware, knowledge on both it and the zombie plague was limited to the people of the Soul Society. Nobody outside of it were really meant to know about it, aside from the denizens of Hell who probably were all informed of what happened by whoever organized the attack and a very meager number of Hollows who somehow found themselves in the dead center of that terrible mess all so they could consume a few of residents that had somehow survived the attack. There have been more of those than Kimiko liked to admit. As such, it was only natural for her to be a bit taken aback by Ailene's revelation. For all she knew of the girl and pretended in a few ways, it was possible that she has actually been somehow involved in the whole thing in one way or another, and could be partly responsible for what happened.

Turns out, however, it was nothing to really worry about: the barista had simply gone to Rukongai shortly after the invasion and saw what had happened to it at the time. Though she still held great disbelief over how easy it still seemed to be for her to go to the Soul Society undetected today, the Shinigami didn't push onto that particular subject. There was no point. Instead, she simply sighed and nodded as she was reminded of the first districts' destruction. "Just to give you an idea... A bunch of people were fighting some kind of giant worm thing in front of the Hakutōmon," she said as she held her tea cup with her left hand, letting its mild heat be transferred into her gigai's fingers. "It's fine today. Most of the repairs have been completed and all, so it barely looks like anything happened. But back then... I took a lot of it before we killed off the last few Hellions that remained. I couldn't even see a building standing. Everything was just flattened."

That worm... Kimiko had not even fought the thing. She had not done battle with it and, in a way, was perhaps the one person who was located the furthest away from it for the most part, seeing as it was assaulting the western gate of Seireitei while she was defending the eastern gate. However, even now, she could still remember how it towered over almost the entirety of the holy city. In the end, it was brought down by a collective effort from the officers of the Gotei 13, but the sheer scale of the damages it had caused both to Rukongai, the White Way Gate and some installations of Seireitei had almost been unimaginable. What had happened to the first western districts was truly the most horrific example of these damages, as it was there that much of the casualties of the worm - both civilian and Shinigami - had been counted. Frankly, Kimiko doesn't even know how these people were even counted or identified, as all there was there at the time was just a flattened pile of rubble and blood. Probably Squad 12 going at it again. Either that, or they were never counted or identified to begin with, and it was all based on estimates.

In any case, there was no point talking about that thing now. Its soul was now back where it belonged, and hopefully, it burned thrice as much as before for having escaped its confinement. As such, the vacationing Shinigami would steer the conversation into another direction by talking about what she has been doing lately, which mostly revolved around teaching. Ailene appeared to be interested in the matter of the school, enough so that she was keeping it in the limelight of the conversation a bit longer than the Third Seat believed it would have been. Noticing this, the swordswoman would smile would take another sip of the excellent tea that had been prepared for her, then would smile before pressing her back against her chair. "Yeah, I guess I am," she would agree with the Arrancar as they spoke of her passion for the school. "I've always kinda thought of teaching people, but I only really got into it not that long ago. It's... I'm not sure how to explain it. It just makes me feel a lot better."

She made no attempt to hide how she felt about her school to Ailene. It was clear to her that it was important, and that it was something that she has learned to cherish over the course of the last few years it has been officially established. This cherishing would become even clearer as she answered the question of the Arrancar regarding its location. "Yeah, it's in Rukongai. 40th western district, to be exact," she revealed this quite naturally, without any hesitation. "I think it's starting to become kinda popular too. The last time I wandered the earlier districts, a bunch of people were starting to talk about it. They... gave it some silly nickname, though, like "Capital of Swordsmanship" or something like that. I just, uh... want to clarify I didn't make that up. It was probably one of the younger students who started it. They kinda talk a lot about the school and I ever since I got rid of the Hellion that was hiding in there back then." 

Some may say that Kimiko was being far too naive in this instance, and that she shouldn't reveal such a huge information to an Arrancar. The members of Hollowkind, for the most part, have dedicated their lives to eliminate Humankind, and so they often tend to use as much information as possible in order to consume souls or, in the case of the people of Las Noches, eliminate the Gotei 13. However, the Third Seat did not hold such worries. She didn't feel like she needed to in this instance. For one, Ailene was a sort of one-of-a-kind, an anomaly. She could barely be referred to as an Espada, judging by her supposed wishes to live a peaceful life. For two, even if she had some ulterior plan in mind for whatever reason, she did not believe this Arrancar would want to attack her dojo. Doing so would be an unnecessary move against the Gotei 13, or at least Kimiko thought of it that way. For three... she simply believed herself to be superior than her. She believed she could beat her in a fight, no matter what she may try to do to her.

Now, this was a selfish reason. It was one born of a pride developed during her days as a member of the Eleventh, one that was born throughout the many victories she has experienced during her career. Yet the main reason why she felt this way was not because she was arrogant. Rather, it was simply because Ailene outright told her that she did not know much about martial arts, therefore making her incredibly inefficient in melee combat. She couldn't even say the word "Kendo" right. With that said, hearing that Ailene actually was somewhat interested in learning swordsmanship was enough to make Kimiko genuinely interested in her case. "Kendo is kinda not really swordsmanship...? I went through a lot of classes back then, but I had to realize that a lot of it doesn't really work. It's more so a sport that focuses on reaction time more than anything else. It's... restricting. Maybe the Arisawa Dojo teaches differently, but yeah," she would hum quietly before taking another sip of her tea, then give a friendly smile to the barista. "My teachings revolve around Iaijutsu. I teach the basics, then I try to guide people towards their own sword style based around those basics. If you want, I can at least show them to you in private to let you figure out something that suits you."

[Ailene Haschiro]

Talk of the invasion that utterly ravaged the Soul Society seemed to certainly be a downer of a conversation. As Ailene went silent, Kimiko made the decision to fill her in on the details. "Just to give you an idea... A bunch of people were fighting some kind of giant worm thing in front of the Hakutōmon," She nodded for a moment. "Well, it seems that you certainly pulled out all the stops for this little invasion of yours, Orobas. Were you out for wanton destruction or was there something more...?" She couldn't help but question it. After all, she had not seen the Akki in a while. Thankfully she was good at masking her thoughts and she just continued listening to Kimiko. "It's fine today. Most of the repairs have been completed and all, so it barely looks like anything happened. But back then... I took a lot of it before we killed off the last few Hellions that remained. I couldn't even see a building standing. Everything was just flattened."

It was depressing to say the least. She sighed, taking sips of her tea, moving the conversation to more pleasant topics. After all, Kimiko had opened up a school! She could tell from the tone in her voice and the way she shifted her body that the Shinigami was passionate about it. Thankfully, Kimiko would concede that. "Yeah, I guess I am," Ailene couldn't help, but giggle as she continued to listen. "I've always kinda thought of teaching people, but I only really got into it not that long ago. It's... I'm not sure how to explain it. It just makes me feel a lot better." Her disposition would brighten even more as she swayed back and forth slightly. 

She couldn't hold her excitement down. "I know exactly what you mean!" She yelled ecstatically. For a moment, the elderly man would turn to face her, giving her a glare. She visibly flinched from this and chuckled nervously. "S.. sorry.." In some ways it would be comical. An Espada, one of the strongest warriors in Las Noches... brought low by a mere mortal. The man grumbled softly, rising to his feet and left Rēgīna after a few moments. Ailene couldn't help, but sigh and shake her head. From the way she carried herself in the moment, it was clear that she was less upset with the man and more cursing at herself. She knew better, but now it was done.

She refocused on Kimiko, deciding to talk far more softly in her inside voice. Not that it mattered, but it was the principle of the thing. "As I was saying, I get it." She'd pause and gently tap her finger on the cup that sat before her. "I didn't know how much I needed Rēgīna until I opened it." There was a radiance to her voice was she reminisced. Clearly, a pleasant memory. Suddenly though her tone became far more disgusted. "As I once told you, the Espada are full of destructive lunatics who posture like no tomorrow. I needed some sanctuary. Some place to get my peace and quiet." She leaned back into her chair, her voice returning to normal. "When I watched how people react to my tea... when I saw how it lifts their spirits... I finally realized that this is where I truly belong." She gave a wide grin. 

A moment after, Ailene realized that she had taken command of the conversation. In an effort to steer it back to Kimiko, the Espada made an inquiry as to its location. "Yeah, it's in Rukongai. 40th western district, to be exact," Ailene nodded in response, sipping her tea, continuing to listen.  "I think it's starting to become kinda popular too. The last time I wandered the earlier districts, a bunch of people were starting to talk about it. They... gave it some silly nickname, though, like "Capital of Swordsmanship" or something like that. I just, uh... want to clarify I didn't make that up. It was probably one of the younger students who started it. They kinda talk a lot about the school and I ever since I got rid of the Hellion that was hiding in there back then."

The Arrancar could not help but give a soft chuckle to this. It was clear to her that Kimiko had little love for the name. After all, she felt that it was silly. Ailene felt that it had a certain charm to it though. She did not react much to the mention of a Hellion. For a moment, Ailene had her suspicions. After some reflection, she deemed it silly to question if the Hellion was Orobas. It didn't seem like the right M.O for the Akki. They were too proud. Too prideful to hide. To be taken out by Kimiko was out the question as well. She discarded the thought and with it the concern for the Hellion faded as well. She had no allegiance to Hell after all.

Suddenly the conversation shifted once more. Ailene had an ineptitude when it came to martial skill and it showed. She never quite picked up the art of the blade and she could not even quite remember the name of the style practiced at the local dojo. Her cheeks flushed for a moment in embarrassment, and she stayed quiet as Kimiko seemed to explain the style to her. "Kendo is kinda not really swordsmanship...? I went through a lot of classes back then, but I had to realize that a lot of it doesn't really work. It's more so a sport that focuses on reaction time more than anything else. It's... restricting. Maybe the Arisawa Dojo teaches differently, but yeah," Ailene nodded and chuckled softly. Clearly it was a style that Kimiko had little love for. 

It was her next comment though that was most of note to the Espada. "My teachings revolve around Iaijutsu. I teach the basics, then I try to guide people towards their own sword style based around those basics. If you want, I can at least show them to you in private to let you figure out something that suits you." The Arrancars' eyes widened for a moment, clearly caught off guard by the offer. She didn't inherently mean to put out her interest in swordsmanship as a request to be tutored after all. Then again... the Third Seat seemed somewhat eager and willing. She claimed to find joy in teaching basics and allow students to progress from there.

She cleared her throat. "You'll excuse my surprise. Among Arrancar it's not all too common to offer to teach others. After all, it would merely be a sign of weakness from both parties..." She hummed softly, sitting in silence as she gave the offer some genuine consideration. "Well, I suppose it would be interesting to understand some basic principles. Though I fear that I may not make much use of them..." She laughed softly. "It's sheer curiosity mainly. I never felt the need to property learn how to use my Zanpakutō since well... a Cero could likely do the job better." She tapped her finger on her teacup, narrowing her eyes as she looked at it. 

Perhaps it was an opportunity that she should afford more thought. After all, she was perfectly content with one day discarding her life as an Arrancar. She wouldn't have the ability to use Cero forever and based on the information fed to her, she'd become nothing more than a regular human. She hummed softly and sighed. "Well... what the hell. Business is slow today and I can always choose to close up early. If you are offering, I'd certainly be interested in being tutored a few things. Besides. May give me an excuse to visit your Dojo in the Capital of Swordsmanship." She gave a small wink and giggled softly at the little teasing. She just couldn't help it especially after seeing what she thought of the name that her students allegedly assigned the 40th. 

[Nakajima Kimiko]

Ailene's yell was swift and sudden. It caused the quietness that had been established within the shop's main room to be shattered into a thousand pieces, with it lightly reverberating once or twice before subsiding. To say that Kimiko hadn't expected such a reaction from the Arrancar was, well, nothing short of an understatement. She had always believed prior to this meeting that the barista was the kind of person that was composed more often than not, with an emphasis on calm and gentleness. Obviously, screaming in such a way was the complete opposite of the both of those things, and so the Third Seat was taken aback. However, unlike the older customer who scowled and left the shop as though he had been deeply offended, she simply let out a very brief snort of amusement. Looks like the members of her division weren't the only ones who kept loudly talking to her after all. "Don't worry about it. I'm sure he's gonna come back later," she said with an understanding tone. It was not much, but she hoped her words would be enough to comfort the tea shop owner.

It was funny. The both of them were what could be considered by many people as beings of great power. Yes, even if she didn't like to admit it often outside of battles, Kimiko could not deny that she was one of the stronger warriors within the Gotei 13. Ailene herself was the Septima Espada and was able to shoot a bunch of lasers that can destroy cities, and Kimiko herself could probably destroy an entire army in a split second. Hell, she can also outright erase a city... but those were powers that she preferred to distance herself from for the time being. Yet, despite the fact that they were both such powerful beings, they worried about others to a noticeable degree. The first appeared to greatly care about her customers to the point that she was saddened by the fact she pushed away an old man from her establishment, even going as far as to outright declare that she wanted to distance herself from the people of Las Noches, and the second is currently trying to better the combat skills of others even if she realistically does not have the time to do it.

It was all so... Human, in a way, and somehow, this pleased the Third Seat greatly. It meant that her Inner Hollow had not taken her humanity completely away from her, and that she - like Ailene said - was not beginning to turn into a twisted being that resembled the majority of the Arrancar. She was not becoming something that held absolutely no regard to the other people, and her heart was not becoming a dark, filthy thing whose darker actions could not be redeemed in the near future. "I can't really say much about the others that you had to work with. Aside from you, I never met another Arrancar... but I guess that was for the better," she would tell the barista shortly after taking yet another sip from her saemidori tea. The warmth that filled her body once again put her mind at ease, and further allowed her to speak her mind about that particular subject. "Anytime we hear anything about what those people did, it's always something bad. They destroyed a Human town, they made a mess somewhere in Hueco Mundo... Honestly, I don't get it. It seems like they just like being shitty for the hell of it."

This information wasn't really precise, of course, and it showed. Kimiko made no attempt to hide her lacking knowledge on the Arrancar's activities. However, what she was saying had some truth to it. Though it was limited, the intelligence being distributed to the higher officers of the Gotei 13 about the operations of Las Noches' members mostly always contained some horrible thing or two. More often than not, the Third Seat would give them a brief read, but the first few lines of the reports were often enough for her to get the bigger picture and simply stop reading before she would get bothered by it. Like she said, it mostly boiled down to a place being destroyed, and more often than not, it was done callously and without warning. You would think that a Hollow who has literally evolved into something that is never hungry anymore would actually turn for the better in one way or another like Ailene, and actually begin to seek a happier and more peaceful life. Unfortunately, it seemed that the majority of them instead allowed the hunger and the power that came with it get to their heads.

In a way, out of everyone she has met so far, their general attitude reminded her of the teacher that was responsible for her education back when she was a student of Shin'ō Academy. Good old Shinkawa Hamanai. It has been quite some time since she has last seen him, but the elderly man has not once stopped sending her hate letters every single day. Frankly, it was quite astounding that he has kept doing this for so long. At 8 PM, a letter would be delivered to Kimiko's quarters, and it would contain some of the most hateful and despicable things that could be said to an officer of the Gotei 13. He would compare his younger self to her, telling her how much harder it was to get into the Academy and succeed, and he would speak of how she still did not deserve her graduation. He also spoke negatively of the Eleventh Division more than once, and has also told her that he was now part of the Central 46 to make sure this would come true. Those were all empty threats that she did not ever consider to be serious, and yet they showcased so perfectly how cowardly and dishonorable the man had become has he progressively gained more political power. She liked to imagine that many Arrancars were similar in nature.

But enough about those people. They did not to speak about them any further, and from the way this conversation was heading to, they would not need to mention them any further. Kimiko was more than happy to discuss the matter of her dojo with Ailene. Her passion fueled her words as she spoke of it and of the way she differentiated Kendo from true swordsmanship. Unsurprisingly, her extensive knowledge of the sword was being put into display here, especially given that it was being pitted against the Arrancar's complete lack of any of it or even martial arts altogether. Whenever that happens, Kimiko tended to always get a bit more excited, since it gave her a chance to potentially share this passion of hers with somebody else who could potentially greatly benefit from it. Even now, she could feel the excitement start making her heart beat a little faster. Naturally, this would lead her to offer the barista some lessons in swordsmanship.

The evolved Hollow, at first, was a bit shocked that she was even offered such a thing. She would come up with a few excuses, namely how it wasn't normal for Arrancars to teach one another and the fact that she wasn't sure if she wasn't going to make much use of them. Kimiko did not mind those particular ones. The first was to be expected from someone who was just previously part of a community of selfish beasts, and the second was to be expected from someone who was now currently owning a tea shop. For all they both knew at the time, Ailene was never really going to find herself in a fight any time soon. What did bother the Third Seat, however, was the last excuse that was told to her. Apparently, the Arrancar had never felt the need to use a sword before because she believed, as quoted, that "a Cero could likely do the job better." For an outsider, this wouldn't be much, but for someone who might as well be described as master of the sword... Well...

Upon hearing these words, the off-duty officer would just sit there in a moment of pure, silent disbelief. She would hear the words linger on and on, echoing in her head like a broken record. Her world would crack into a thousand pieces, and her thoughts would begin to spaz out almost uncontrollably as the song of a particular magical movie she has seen a looong time ago started blaring in her head.  Another wizard,  they would cry out before laughing almost maniacally.  Another fucking wizard!  Of course. It all made sense. Back when they first fought, Ailene had only really used Ceros and other ranged attack, so she was obviously not at all a physical fighter! It made so much sense that it hurt the poor Third Seat who realized that yet another person she has come to refer to as at least a good acquaintance preferred to fight from a distance to some capacity. It was honestly a miracle that, despite these few seconds of utter internal madness, she showed absolutely not even a glimpse of this reaction to Ailene.

It was fortunate that she hadn't actually done so, for as Kimiko's brain exploded in a burst of fiery nuclear fire, the barista would actually accept her offer. This would promptly snap the Third Seat back to reality, causing her to blink a few times and take another sip of her tea before calming down again. After she was able to completely rid herself of her magical thoughts, she would give a friendly smile to the Arrancar before shaking her head at the mention of the 40th district's most recent nickname. "Heh, sure. You're welcome to visit at any time," she would say before she then began eating her cheesecake and drinking her tea a little bit faster upon the mentioning of an earlier closure of the shop. "Anyway, there's a forest not too far from here. I think it's near the cemetery. Since you said earlier that you're afraid to release too much spiritual pressure, it's probably for the best we start there. It's... not always easy for me to keep my own spiritual pressure under control either, heh..."

[Ailene Haschiro]

The conversation would weave back and forth between the two. Discussion of invasions, Ailene's rejection of her Hollow kin, Kimiko's lack of understanding of Arrancar and finally the Dojo. It was a conversation that had no clear purpose or direction to an outsider. Regardless, Ailene appreciated the wealth of information that was to be gained. Insight into the invasion, the location of the dojo, Kimiko's social cues. The Septima Espada was a social butterfly, and she was more than satisfied with the state of the conversation. After all, the Shinigami had effectively offered to tutor her and after some reflection, Ailene decided that it could be a worthwhile pursuit. 

As Ailene added her little teasing jab at the nickname given to the 40th District, it did not seem to bother Kimiko much at all. "Heh, sure. You're welcome to visit at any time," Once more, a blush touched Ailene's cheeks and she looked around for a moment, clearly trying to hide her own bashfulness. After she felt it fade, the Arrancar smiled and clasped her hands together. "Wonderful!" There was a clear excitement in her voice. Even though the risk it posed to the Arrancar, it was clear that she would try to do her best. Ailene chuckled softly as the Shinigami before her began to drink her tea faster and chow down upon her cake more ferociously. 

Soon, she'd address the earlier offer she had made. "Anyway, there's a forest not too far from here. I think it's near the cemetery. Since you said earlier that you're afraid to release too much spiritual pressure, it's probably for the best we start there. It's... not always easy for me to keep my own spiritual pressure under control either, heh..." The comment admittedly caught Ailene off guard, but she simply nodded in response. "Sounds like a good idea. I'm not usually too worried about it, but sometimes it can't be helped." She chuckled softly for a moment. "Most spiritual beings tend to be able to handle it, but mortals are well... fragile. Well. Your average one at least."

Ailene felt the need to correct herself as she knew that Luca, a Fullbringer, could certainly take her on when she was sealed. That was years ago too. At this point, if he had gotten stronger, Ailene had the feeling that any average combatant could stand up to her. Hell. Her recent scuffle with Albin was proof of that as she was forced to unleash her Resurrecciòn upon the Third Seat of the Thirteenth. She sighed, taking swift sips of her tea and finally descending upon the mochi ice cream. It did much to calm her nerves and put her at ease. She hummed contently as she finished the small bowl over the course of a minute and tapped the empty teacup. 

She'd wait patiently for Kimiko to finish, rising to her feet and spacing out the containers on own tray. Once Kimiko finished, Ailene would take her tray as well with a smile. "Here, let me take care of that. Your tea and food have been paid by the pleasant conversation." She'd grin for a moment before heading back behind the counter with the trays. There, Ailene would take her time to clean the dishes and cups. She'd rinse them out and clean vigorously, paying attention to the tiniest remnants of crumbs and stains. She'd repeat the same with the gaiwan, taking care to transfer the tea to a pot before discarding the remaining and smoldering tea leaves. Depending on how long this lesson took, she may be able to finish the tea herself after all. 

Soon she'd hear the door to the backroom rustle and Amber would slide out and approach the Arrancar. Ailene simply gave her a warm smile. "Okay Ailene. I took notes of what loose leaf tea we have left and how much of each jar is filled." The Espada took the notepad and gave it a brief look over. She chuckled. Everything seemed fine. With that, she placed it into a shelf and turned to the red-headed girl. "Amber, do me a favor and take the day off." She'd pause for a moment before continuing. "It's a quiet day today and I'll be entertaining a friend." She'd idly motion at Kimiko, causing the girl to wave at the Shinigami.

Shortly after she'd nod. Ailene smiled in response. "Just fold the uniform in the room you found it in and have some rest. Let's move your shift on Sunday to Friday though. As I recall, you don't have any classes and it's a far busier day." She'd give Amber a wink. "Yes Ailene!" She'd smile and return to the backroom again, getting out of her uniform. Ailene would walk over to the other table at the end of the Tea House, taking care to clean the leftover dishes and collect the money he had left to pay for the tea and ice cream. She pouted for a moment. "Hm... no tip.." She simply shook her head, reminding her of the racket she had made earlier. Taking it back and placing the money in a jar under the counter, locking the compartment, Ailene gave Rēgīna a final look over. 

There were no more messes left over, typical of a Sunday. After all, people rarely showed up. The backdoor opened again as Amber stepped through and made her way to the entrance. She gave a polite bow to Ailene. "See you on Friday Ailene." The Espada gave a nod in return and chuckled softly. "Stay safe Amber." The familiar bell ringed as Amber left Rēgīna and disappeared around the corner for a few moments. Ailene took the time to return all of the plates and cups into the cabinet, placing the pot of tea on the counter for later. She'd make her way to the brown wooden door and smiled at Kimiko. "Do excuse me for a moment Kimiko. I just have to get changed."

With that, she'd retire to the backroom. Undoing her obi and other ties, Ailene slipped out of her Rēgīna uniform and into her Espada outfit. It was not nearly as form fitting as her other uniform, and it was something that the Arrancar certainly preferred a little more. After slipping back into her Espada garments, Ailene pulled a blade from out under the bed. She looked down at the jade handle of her Zanpakutō and sighed gently, placing her hand onto the gleaming white blade. She allowed her Hollow reiatsu to return to her, drawing it from her blade. She gritted her teeth for a moment as her body changed. A Mask Fragment grew on her forehead again and her stomach tore itself open as her Hollow Hole reformed. Even though she had perfected the process, only taking a few seconds at most, it still hurt like a bitch as she was left softly gasping in pain. 

Once she composed herself, the Arrancar secured the sheath along her robes and slid the Zanpakutō in. Leaning over to the desk across the small room, Ailene retrieved a senbon. Taking the small needle, she'd place the one that was already in her hair with the new one. This was no ordinary needle though and was in fact a tool she had picked up. Focusing her reiatsu into it, she spoke out softly. "Human.." She slowly felt her reiatsu signature change. It morphed from that of a Hollow to that of a Human once more. It was nothing more than a veil, but it was a necessary precaution. After all, if her reaitsu suddenly flared, Hollow reiatsu could alert the Gotei not unlike what happened with Celes. 

The Arrancar sighed and rose to her feet. With a gentle hop to her step, she'd close the door and return to the main tearoom. As she emerged, she'd look much like how Kimiko first met her. The Mask Fragment on full display, a Zanpakutō resting in its sheath and her Espada robes showing her position. She'd smile at the Third Seat and look around. Everything seemed to be in order. "Well, I guess I should be as ready as ever." She'd grin, walking over the door, opening it and ringing the bell. She'd motion for Kimiko to follow her. Assuming that the Shinigami did so, Ailene turned off the lights and made sure to lock the door, placing the key into her satchel which she carried just about everywhere. She'd then turn to her companion. "So then. You're leading the way to this spot in the forest I'm guessing?" Ailene knew a little of the surrounding area since the opening of Rēgīna, but she'd allow Kimiko to take lead if she so wanted.

[Nakajima Kimiko]

The cheesecake and the tea served to Kimiko did not last for much longer after Ailene told the Shinigami that she had decided to close up shop earlier than expected. Since her food tasted so good, the Third Seat would have preferred to take her time a little bit further to enjoy them to their fullest; however, she did not want to bring them outside of the shop with her. She had always felt as though doing such a thing was a bit of a disrespectful thing to do to the people who have prepared it. Fortunately, she did get rid of the contents that she had ordered too quickly unlike the time when she had bought fried chicken from a fast food stand within Rukongai. Stomachaches, at the very least, were not going to happen anytime soon. Then again, considering how much she was anticipating teaching the Arrancar how to use a blade instead of those pesky, disgusting spiritual laser beams, perhaps those stomachaches would have never happened int he first place.

As she finished her meal and drink, the vacationing Shinigami would let a quiet, content smile while she would feel their content reach her stomach one last time. She would take her time pressing her back against her chair, enjoying the creamy taste of the bits of cake left between her teeth and the calming sensation of the tea coursing through her body. After the both of those things would finally come to an end, she would reach for the tray in order to bring it towards the counter; after all, it was the customary thing to do, and she would also be able to pay for its contents there. Surprisingly, however, she would not actually have to do either of those things, as before she could even pick up the tray, Ailene would do it for her and more or less tell her that the order was on the house. It took a moment for Kimiko to register that she was even given such a thing for free, seeing as she was used to pay for that kind of thing, but she would eventually accept it. "Oh, thanks," she said simply at the time before blushing a bit embarrassingly from having been so surprised by another person's generosity. Oh well... at least she was able to save some of her vacation money.

While the barista would go on to take care of the dishes from both her and Kimiko's trays, the Shinigami would eventually raise herself up from her chair and find herself progressively heading towards the counter to wait for Ailene's return. Her business here appeared to be concluded, and so now, the only thing that was asked of her was to wait for the Arrancar to close the shop proper before leaving. It was a good thing she was the only remaining customer in the shop, else she would have found it somewhat awkward to just stand in the middle of the shop like that. Somehow, it felt wrong to her. In any case, as she waited, the redheaded waitress from before would come out of the backdoor and give a small wave to Kimiko, to which the Shinigami responded by giving her a friendly bow of the head. The officer hadn't really seen the girl before, but from the way she looked and handled herself, she felt like she could accurately judge this person as being a student. Despite the fact that the girl was very clearly American, observing this person was almost a nostalgic thing for Kimiko. It reminded her of her own time as a student within the Living World. She hadn't found a job before she died, but she could vaguely remember that she had been looking for one.

After telling her boss that her tasks were complete, the waitress would be then told of the shop's early closure alongside a change to her schedule. Basically, Ailene wanted her to work on Fridays instead of Sundays. It was a reasonable change, or at least it was to the scarlet-eyed woman. If Sundays are always so empty with barely anyone visiting aside from what appears to be a pretty rude elderly man, then there is absolutely no need for two employees. Ailene alone was probably enough. Unsurprisingly, it seemed that the student held a similar belief, seeing as she found absolutely no issues with this change. Shortly after, she had gone in the backrooms to change her clothes, and once that was done, she spoke her goodbyes to her boss and left. All in all, she seemed like a nice person. Hopefully, the locals of Karakura Town won't be too mean with her. If there's one thing she has learned of her country back then while she was a Human, it was that the people of her country were unfortunately a bit rude to outsiders.

In any case, once the waitress was gone, Ailene would go on to change her own clothes into the backrooms. Kimiko remained quiet in the meantime, staying close to the counter as she waited some more. At a certain point, however, she would find herself frowning lightly as she felt the air suddenly change around her. It was but for a very brief instant, but during that moment, the off-duty officer was able to detect the spiritual energy of a Hollow in the air. Of course, the swordswoman knew where the energy was coming from, and so she did not act. Not before long, the energy simply vanished. Lifting an eyebrow, the scarlet-eyed woman would look over the counter as she tried to see if Ailene was still there; after all, it was a bit odd that her energy suddenly disappeared just like that. Eventually, though, once the Arrancar would emerge from the backrooms, she would realize what had happened and settle down.  She probably has something to hide her energy,  she concluded then.  Smart... I don't think the Gotei 13 would bother caring about the fact she doesn't want to hurt them if the scouts find her.

With that said, she was surprised to see that the Arrancar was actually in the same form she had seen back when they had searched for Walker. The fragment of the barista's mask had returned, and so had the hole in her stomach. It was like the both of those things had never disappeared in the first place, even though Kimiko could not see them only moments prior. It was enough to make the Shinigami wonder how she had done it. Was it a technique? Had she used some kind of object that allowed her to change her appearance? If so, was that object also responsible for the concealment of her spiritual energy? After all, even though she now stood close to the Third Seat, the officer still could not detect the nature of her spiritual energy as being anything else than Human. Whatever the answers may be for the questions that the Shinigami now had, perhaps it was for the best for them to remain unanswered for the time being. They had other things to do.

"I'm... gonna guess no one can see you now?" She would at the very least ask just to make sure that that particular part was being covered. By default, anything that is not Human can usually not be seen by Humans, and so non-Human beings can do what they want generally without being seen by them. Considering that Ailene's outfit was very unorthodox in comparison to the typical styles that are to be expected from the people of the Living World, it was only natural for Kimiko to ask such a question to her. Though she doubted that anyone was really going to freak out about a Human wearing an outfit that could be considered as strange in comparison to theirs, since some Humans enjoy disguising themselves with costumes from time to time, she nevertheless was taking her precautions. However Ailene may respond to this question, the Third Seat would follow her outside the shop, make sure she wasn't being seen talking to nothing, then would answer the Arrancar's question. "Yeah, it's not that far from here. It should take us about... maybe twenty minutes of walking," she would guess with a light shake of the hand. From thereafter, the two would proceed towards the forest.

Though they were in a different part of Karakura Town that she could only somewhat remember by heart, Kimiko did not have too much difficult finding herself as she guided Ailene towards the cemetery. She could almost recall most of the street names, and could recognize a few corners here and there due to the buildings that she could find there, like the Manako Clinic and the Furin Hall. Maybe it was because of the many patrols she had accomplished in this side of Japan that she was able to recognize these areas so naturally. Eventually, they would find themselves nearing the cemetery. As they would pass by the general area, the Third Seat would notice that a small girl appeared to be heading there on her own. She couldn't be any older than eleven, perhaps twelve at best, and she was wearing a cyan dress with small shoes. From the looks of it, she had a particular grave in mind. The fact that she was in a cemetery without a parent bothered Kimiko, but she did not find herself commenting about it. She and Ailene did not need to get into her business.

Finally, the two of them would reach the forest. At a first glance, it appeared as a large collection of trees that were set by the main road, which itself was seemingly heading towards another part of Tokyo. Yokohama was most likely its destination, as it was the closest prefecture to Karakura Town. Upon reaching these trees, Kimiko would let out a quiet sigh and pull something out of her pocket. "Alright, we're here... I think it's the right time for me to try this thing now," she would tell Ailene before lifting the object up. As she would do so, what she held would immediately be revealed to the Arrancar as a... candy dispenser? It at least appeared as such. It was bright pink with the words "Soul Candy" written on top of it, and it had the head of a cartoon dog wearing a scholarly hat on top of his head. The appearance of the dispenser visibly embarrassed the Shinigami, as it didn't seem as though she wanted to show it to Ailene very much. However, that wasn't what she was afraid of showing to her the most; rather, it was what would happen after the fact.

The woman would position the dispenser in front of her open left palm pushing her thumb onto the head of the dog, causing it to be squished before pushing out what appeared to be a sort of spherical pill. After this was done, she would return the dispenser to her pocket, then raise her left hand up with enough speed to cause the pill to be lightly thrown in the air, then fall into her open mouth. The officer gulped the pill, then suddenly, Kimiko's true body would emerge from the gigai by sliding to its side, with trails of spiritual energy following behind her wake. It was a very flashy experience to witness, to say the least. Ailene would instantly be able to recognize her sleeveless Shihakusho, but there would be two elements of the officer that she would have never seen before. The first was the presence of a second Zanpakuto settled on her right hip. The second was the ridiculous amount of spiritual energy that would be exhumed from Kimiko. Fortunately, this energy would immediately be decreased before it would have any effect on their surroundings, but it was clear that it had risen since the last time Ailene had met Kimiko in this form.

As the process ended, the officer would let out a hum of relief while stretching herself. She was glad to be out of her gigai for once. It felt so much less constraining and natural. However, shortly after she stopped stretching, she would then turn and stare intently at her gigai. She was looking at it with a comical look of worry, as though she was expecting something bad would happen. Not before long, right as the fake body would begin to fall head-first towards the ground, it would slowly get its footing, then rise. Once it had fully arisen, it would slowly turn its head towards the two beings, then suddenly take on an exceptionally-straight posture with one arm settled underneath the other's elbow, and its free hand nearing its chin. "Why, this is a most beautiful place, wan. Perfect for a picnic, I say," it would speak with Kimiko's voice, albeit with a very posh, downright foreign accent. It sounded British. "What do you wish to ask of me, officer?"

The look that appeared on Kimiko's face could be qualified as one of absolute horror mixed with sheer disgust. Everything. Everything about this bothered her. The thing's ridiculous personality, the fact that it spoke in such a weird accent with her voice, and the way it behave like some old-fashioned European aristocrat... It was evil. Plain evil. Whoever designed this thing must have been out of their absolute mind. Unfortunately, it was a necessary evil. There was a reason why she hadn't just left her gigai at the store. "Just... keep an eye on the area..." she would say in a meager voice as she attempted her best not to order it to cease existing. "If you see any Pluses or Hollows... just come back and tell us... and please... just don't talk to anyone."

"Consider it done, wan. Have a jolly good day." 

And with that, the gigai suddenly sped towards the trees with sudden acrobatics and speed, then proceeded to wander away from the two women. Kimiko would just stand there for a moment, absolutely stunned by what just happened, then would press her the first two fingers of her left hand against her forehead. "There's a clearing not far from here... Let's just head there before it comes back," she told Ailene before she then proceeded into the forest at a faster pace than before, all the while making sure the Arrancar was staying in tow by going at a speed of 75. Hopefully, the barista would have no questions about whatever that was supposed to be, but Kimiko already had a feeling she would at least ask about it.

[Ailene Haschiro]

As Ailene revealed herself to the Shinigami shortly after getting ready, she smiled happily. She was rather excited to learn some fundamentals of swordwork. Naturally, Ailene did not think that she would excel, but it was a new opportunity. That alone would arouse her excitement. As she tried to usher the Third Seat out of Rēgīna though, Kimiko posed a question. One that admittedly caught Ailene off guard at first. "I'm... gonna guess no one can see you now?" She blinked for a moment before commenting. "That would be correct. I am a spirit again much like any Shinigami, Hollow or Arrancar." She raised an eyebrow, contemplating why Kimiko would ask her that. She wouldn't let it bother her though.

With that out of the way, it seemed that they could finally get going. As they both left Tea House, Ailene turned off the lights and made sure to lock up behind her. She'd look at Kimiko and let her lead the way. Ailene knew her way around Karakura, but she wasn't sure if the Shinigami had some specific spot in mind. "Yeah, it's not that far from here. It should take us about... maybe twenty minutes of walking," The Arrancar nodded and began following Kimiko shortly after. On the way there, they'd walk though familiar local parts of Karakura. Past Manako Clinic. Then past Furin Hall. She had learnt to recognize these places since taking up residence in Karakura though she rarely visited. They'd even pass the graveyard and see a young girl roam the grounds. Perhaps the weirdest sight thus far as she was fairly young and unsupervised. Part of Ailene wanted to say something, but she'd decide to let it go... for now at least. 

After what felt like nearly half an hour, the two women would reach the mouth of the forest. A solemn little path led into the dark between the trees, presumedly leading to another nearby town. Ailene was not nearly familiar enough with the geography of Japan to make an educated guess. It was merely an assumption. Ailene was ready to go in, but Kimiko stopped in her tracks. "Alright, we're here... I think it's the right time for me to try this thing now," The Shinigami reached into her pocket. Ailene nearly recoiled and braced herself. It was clear that she was suspicious, but she'd soon find her distrust unfounded as Kimiko pulled out.... a dispenser. The Arrancar's body language appeared far less tense as she gave a notable sigh of relief. 

She'd pout softly at the Shinigami for making it seem so ominous. It was a rather cute candy dispenser. It had a puppy with a scholarly hat on top. It was charming. Despite that, Ailene took note of Kimiko's body language. The way she carried herself. She was uneasy. Ailene's gaze became fixated on the dispenser. Just what dark secret could it hide? Was it truly something sinister that Kimiko had planned for Ailene? Once again, her paranoia was just that as Kimiko let out a small pill. It was not unlike a small pearl, yellow in coloration. Ailene simply raised an eyebrow. Placing the cute dispenser back into her pocket, the Shinigami tossed the pill up, swallowing it. 

Suddenly, Ailene would stand witness to something she had never seen before. Kimiko's Shinigami form suddenly surged from the body, leaving a wave of reiatsu in her wake. Much like the Espada, Kimiko also wore the traditional garments of her organization. The fabled Shihakusho. Ailene also took note of a twin Zanpakutō that sat along her hip. "Huh... a second Zanpakutō? Just like that Captain I ran into in front of the University..." Along with this, Ailene could sense the extremely dense pressure rising from the Shinigami. Thankfully, the surge would slowly begin to die down and she'd no longer be flexing her clearly large reserve of spiritual energy. 

This, however, was not the most interesting thing. No. The faux body of the Shinigami would fall and then suddenly catch itself. It rose, back straight, taking in the view. Suddenly, it spoke. "Why, this is a most beautiful place, wan. Perfect for a picnic, I say," Ailene's eyes widened. The voice was not unlike Kimiko's, but it was far more elegant. There was even the hint of an accent. Ailene's eyes widened and she could only stare in silence. "What do you wish to ask of me, officer?" While Kimiko was staring in disgust, Ailene's eyes lit up with wonder and excitement. She quickly approached the faux body and began poking the gigai, comically moving all around the body as she couldn't help, but squeal with glee.

It would earn her quite the incredulous look from the gigai. It suddenly began to make more sense. The pill. The animation of the faux body. Kimiko's apprehension. It was just like Shio. An artificial soul! Ailene's eyes continued to be lit up as she was positively fangirling over this artificial soul. Even as Kimiko gave the order, Ailene couldn't help, but gush, trying to poke and inspect the gigai even more. It was clear that she was ecstatic. "Just... keep an eye on the area..." Her voice continued to carry an apprehension that Ailene took note of. For what reason though the Arrancar could not divine. "If you see any Pluses or Hollows... just come back and tell us... and please... just don't talk to anyone."

"Consider it done, wan. Have a jolly good day." Taking the order and rolling with it, the artificial soul sped for the trees with impressive dexterity. Ailene began to pout and whine loudly. "N.. no!! Don't go yet! I wasn't done looking!" It would be too late as the soul was simply too fast for her. "There's a clearing not far from here... Let's just head there before it comes back," Ailene turned her head, staring at Kimiko. It was clear that the Third Seat had little interest in the artificial soul. It was more than that. She felt some disgust for it. Ailene could sense it. She simply raised her eyebrow and nodded. "Alright..." There was a clear resignation to her voice. She wasn't going to argue, but it clearly bothered her just a bit.

Without much more of a word, Ailene descended into the forest with Kimiko. As they began to run, it would become clear rather quickly that Ailene could only run at an above average speed. It would be nothing impressive. Actually, it would be rather pathetic for any high-level combatant such as an Espada. Regardless, Ailene was simply thankful that Kimiko would simply adjust and match her top speed. It would take a little, given that speed at which they were forced to run at due to Ailene. Soon, however, they'd find themselves no longer shrouded in greenery. Instead, light shone upon them as they came across the clearing.

The sudden shift from darkness to the bright light was blinding. Ailene's eyes needed a moment to adjust. After a few moments, she'd look around and take in the wonderous sight. The clearing wasn't massive, but it was rather large. Dotted with numerous groups of flowers growing together. The cheerful singing of nearby birds could be heard. A short distance away, there was even a small pond. It was a wonderful sight and much like with the artificial soul, Ailene's eyes lit up with wonder again. It was a strange sensation, but the sight reminded her of home. Not of the dull sands of Hueco Mundo, but of her life before Kazuna died. Her voice was reserved, clearly taking in the surroundings. "Woah..." 

[Nakajima Kimiko]

Kimiko had an inkling of a thought that Ailene did not really like how she took out the Soul Candy dispenser out of her pocket. This feeling rose when, during a brief moment as she gulped down the artificial soul pill, she saw the pout the Arrancar sported. It felt almost accusatory, in a way, which made the Third Seat feel a bit ashamed as she realized she hadn't even actually told the barista what the soul was even supposed to be. For all she knew, the evolved Hollow probably thought that it was some kind of secret weapon or something else that could be considered as shady. Fortunately, this off-duty officer wasn't the kind of person that would act so dishonorably, so she would never actually do or even think about something like that, but that doesn't change the fact that another Shinigami officer who knew about Ailene's true nature would have potentially done something like this to take out the Arrancar. She will make sure to tell her next time she has to use an item of sorts.

With that said, once the tea shop owner realized what the item was about, her suspicions immediately shifted into something Kimiko could only consider as incredibly innocent. Unlike the officer, she was completely enamored by the awakening of the artificial soul within her gigai. She was treating it like she was a child staring at a brand new toy that was being sold in the nearest supermarket, poking it in many places and giving it looks of absolute wonder. The artificial soul did not appear to be bothered enough by this behavior to break out of its posh persona, but it was definitely experiencing discomfort from this experience. Judging by the way it was staring back at her, it was not just because of the fact it was being looked at as though it was a toy, but also because of Ailene's nature as an Arrancar. It definitely seemed as though its was conflicting with its nature. "Madam, please, that is very unbecoming of you! I am no fruitcake for you to admire!" It would warn politely, albeit still with that ridiculously-posh attitude of hers, all the while it visibly resisted the urge to push Ailene away.

In normal circumstances, the Third Seat would have perhaps felt bad for the artificial soul. It was just doing the job that it had been made for, and it definitely had enough of a conscience to feel embarrassed by the fact it was being stared at in such a way. It must probably be thinking that Ailene could actually hurt it, since she was primordially a Hollow above everything else. Nevertheless, the officer couldn't help but somewhat rejoice in its embarrassment. It was exceptionally mean of her to think this way, but she absolutely could not stand the concept of artificial souls. Obviously, she saw the usefulness in them and how indispensable they are for many foreign operations within the Living World. It was perfect for people who wanted to blend in within the Human crowd without being identified by Hollows as Shinigami. However, she thought that the idea of seeing her body - well, a recreation of it, that is - literally being animated by what appeared to be the equivalent of a cartoon character was incredibly creepy and invasive. It will most likely take her a few more years before she eventually gets used to it.

Ailene, of course, did not think in such a way, and it showed shortly after the officer gave her orders to the artificial soul. While the posh thing appeared a bit glad to have an excuse for moving away from the Arrancar, the barista did not share such a sentiment, instead appearing somewhat saddened by the fact she could not stare at it for a little longer. The sight of this supposedly-powerful being just resigning herself as they prepared to move into the forest was incredibly pathetic, to say the least, but Kimiko did not feel apprehension from this. Instead, she felt regret, especially once her friend stared at her with such great disappointment in her eyes. It was like she had literally confiscated the toy this child has been coveting for months on end, or told the child that they would not be able to get the toy anytime soon.  Why do I feel like a parent all of a sudden?  The Shinigami would wander embarrassingly before she would leave out a quiet sigh. "I... didn't know you would like it so much... I'll tell it to stay for you once it comes back..." 

She still hated the artificial soul. That much was evident in the way she somewhat hesitated in granting her friend this much. However, she would much rather see the Arrancar actually feel better than see her becoming incredibly disappointed by the fact she could not see it again. The girl was a seeker of knowledge, if Kimiko remembered correctly, so she probably reacted this way because she had never seen a Soul Candy before. It wasn't a reaction that was entirely unique to her specifically, as countless Humans tend to appear very excited upon seeing something new. Hell, she had watched a show this morning on the television that was granted to her in that apartment, and it showed people being incredibly excited about the release of a strange device that appeared to be a sort of cellphone that could bend around your arm, with cheering and countless interviews with people waiting in line to buy the thing. If they can react so intensely, then so can someone like Ailene.

Unfortunately for the Arrancar, the artificial soul was not going to come back for a while. Though this forest wasn't really big for a spirit who could move quickly with increased strength and acrobatics, it was most likely going to take several tours around the forest to make sure there were none of the things Kimiko told it to look for wandering about the place. In so doing, there was nothing else for them to do than to proceed within the forest and head towards where the off-duty officer wanted to bring the evolved Hollow to all along. Since they were proceeding at a speed of 75, it took a bit longer for this trip to end than Kimiko had anticipated, as she could have gotten there in maybe a few seconds if she had gone at full speed above the forest. However, she couldn't help it; after all, the Arrancar was not particularly quick, and for as disappointing as that was in of itself for a person like her who prioritized speed above all else, there was nothing she could really do about that. Luckily, the clearing wasn't too far away, and so after about five minutes of travel, they would finally reach the place.

The clearing was one of brightness and peace. The sun shone above it quite pleasantly, and the wind blew quietly to prevent it all from becoming too hot underneath the former's gazed. The birds sung happily between one another, and there were a few flowers here and there settled near a pond. It was quite the sight, and Kimiko was happy to see that the continual urban development of Karakura Town had not reached this place. She was also happy that the place had not somehow been destroyed by spiritual entities, unlike the one within Rukongai she has personally accidentally destroyed when she unlocked her Bankai. Moving that memory out of the way, though, she would hum quietly in appreciation for the place.. "It's nice, right? I found it during one of my patrols," she would tell Ailene with a calm smile as she proceeded forward onto the grassy grounds. "We could've gone to the public park near downtown, but... this isn't as noisy." 

She would allow the both of them to better experience the serenity of the area before she would eventually position herself near the middle of the clearing. After she would do so, she would give a look towards her surroundings to make sure there were no Hollows, Pluses, or Humans in the area that could perhaps be a problem for them. Her verification was swift, with her eyes quickly going from one end of the forest to the other, checking every tree and bush. Eventually, she would close her eyes, then turn herself towards the Arrancar before taking on a more excited look. "Alright, let's get started! As of today, you are a honorary disciple of the Nijū Kanmeki-ryu!" She would exclaim with a very sudden shift in her attitude. The Third Seat did not appear as awkward anymore. It was clear she had entered the state of mind that she usually maintained whenever she was with her students, and it showed in the way she appeared so much brighter and more confident in comparison to her usual, more reserved self.

The off-duty officer would take Shizukakane out of the scabbard on her right hip, then hold its hilt with the both of her hands. "You told me that you weren't really experienced with the sword, so you probably don't quite know how to swing one correctly. So, we'll need to go over a few things first before doing anything that's a bit more complex," she would tell the Arrancar before then raising her sword above her head. "We'll start with a few two-handed swings. This will let you understand the weight of your Zanpakuto and how to hold it correctly. Follow my lead." She would wait for Ailene to properly position herself like she would. Once this was done, she would then execute a frontal swing before returning the sword above her head. She would do so a few times, analyzing the barista's movements in the meanwhile to see if there were any imperfections in her movement. Considering that she was a beginner, it was certain that there was going to be at least one mistake even if she somehow perfectly replicates her the officer's swings.

[Ailene Haschiro]

On the way to the clearing, Ailene had been somewhat lost in thought. Following the Third Seat, she was slightly embarrassed by her earlier showcase of excitement again. She was usually the more reserved type. The one to watch and study from a distance, but this was a unique situation. After all, the artificial soul made her think of Shio. She wasn't sure anymore when was the last time that her and the Mod Soul even talked. She remembered the last time clearly. How she tried to repair Shio's body. Her use of Charla Serena which had unraveled the mind of her friend. The glimpses that she got into the past of her friend. It was a chilling reminder of the base nature of those who would be Hollows.

As they finally arrived in the clearing and Ailene got a moment to look around, all signs of embarrassment and doubt would fade. She would simply admire the beauty, moving around to get a better look at everything it had to offer. It seemed that Kimiko would take not of this. "It's nice, right? I found it during one of my patrols," The Espada nodded, feeling right at home. She allowed her bare feet to dig into the dirt gently. Letting out a sigh of contentment, she continued to listen. "We could've gone to the public park near downtown, but... this isn't as noisy." The Espada smiled softly, feeling the gentle breeze that blew across the field. 

For a moment, everything would be quiet. Tranquil. Just after skimming the surroundings, Kimiko exclaimed loudly and offered Ailene a more excited look. "Alright, let's get started! As of today, you are a honorary disciple of the Nijū Kanmeki-ryu!" The Arrancar looked at Kimiko and blinked for a moment. "Nijū Kanmeki-ryu? I never did understand the fancy names..." The neutral expression simply became a smile as she began to approach the Third Seat with a bright grin. She'd then exclaim herself. "Well. I am certainly honored~" Her voice would be bright like Kimiko's, but not as confident. She appeared far more reserved and nonchalant about the whole thing. After all, this was her first official swordsmanship training. She was nervous...

As Kimiko drew one of her twin Zanpakutō, the Arrancar watched her movements closely as she held it with both hands. "You told me that you weren't really experienced with the sword, so you probably don't quite know how to swing one correctly. So, we'll need to go over a few things first before doing anything that's a bit more complex," The Arrancar merely nodded in response. She was the student and Kimiko was the teacher. She would grant her the respect expected of one by listening. Kimiko then raised her sword above her head, much to the surprise of Ailene. Thankfully, she'd explain. "We'll start with a few two-handed swings. This will let you understand the weight of your Zanpakuto and how to hold it correctly. Follow my lead."

Ailene gulped for a moment as she placed her hand upon the jade hilt of her Zanpakutō. Drawing it slowly from its sheath, she looked upon the silver white blade for a moment, revealing it to Kimiko. It truly was a marvelous blade. Expertly crafted out of Ailene's own spiritual energy when she became an Arrancar. After all, that was what the Zanpakutō of an Arrancar was. A vessel to hold their power. The true form of a Hollow. This also served as Ailene's darkest secret. Unlike most Arrancar, Ailene trapped much of her original power within the blade. This allowed it to grow and fester into something truly powerful at the cost of a far weaker base form. Unfortunately, this power molded itself into a new form, an entirely separate soul that was trapped in the blade not unlike a Zanpakutō Spirit. Serving as Ailene's true form, it was far more vicious than the Septima Espada. 

For a moment, as Ailene looked upon her blade, Kimiko would likely be able to see the Arrancar gaze upon it with contempt. It was clear that something about the nature of the Zanpakutō bothered her. This moment, however, would fade as the Arrancar sighed. She'd raise it high above her head as she attempted to mimic the Third Seat. Watching Kimiko, Ailene tried to execute a similar strike to the Shinigami. She'd stagger her swing just after Kimiko's so she could watch the form of the teacher. Shortly after, she'd execute her own downward swing trying to muster as much force as she could. She'd repeat this a few times with Kimiko.

Despite her keen eye... despite her attempt at mimicry, it would be clear to any experienced swordswoman that Ailene's form was sloppy. The distribution of weight was all wrong. Her blade was not completely straight as it raised above her head. Hell, even her grip was flimsy. The most impressive thing that Ailene had shown thus far with her Zanpakutō is not running herself through. The subtle ideas would be there due to decades of wielding a blade. It would be clear through that it was not practiced. It was as if she merely carried it for show everywhere. In some ways, this was not inaccurate. Regardless, Ailene would try a few more times, swinging with little rhyme or reason other than to satisfy Kimiko. There was some enjoyment in her movements, but likely more from the novelty of getting some official training.