DONTTRUSTME [Joint Training]

[Antoinette Harper]

Humming a soft tune to herself, the Bount found herself gliding through Karakura Town, doing a bit of window shopping on her day off. She had the opportunity to spend it as she pleased, so why not glance around in order to look for some new books? While there was ample opportunity for the woman to remain productive, she was nothing if not a bit hedonistic. Taking the opportunity to spoil herself - even if it was something small - was second nature to her~!

Leaving one of the nearby stores with a small handful of new books, Antoinette held quite the satisfied smile on her face. They'd had so much! Ranging from nonfiction books she'd been looking to pick up about the history of Japan, a continuation of one of just the sweetest romance stories she's ever read, and a couple more! This was going to keep her busy for a couple hours for certain. Maybe even all evening, if she could spend the rest of her afternoon reading! It was awfully hard to say whether or not things would go like that, but she was willing to take it moment by moment.

And, just like that, she'd felt her phone vibrate.

Pulling the small device from a pocket, she quickly scrolled through her notifications, and let out a dissatisfied huff. "I swear," she spoke, talking to herself, "seems I'm needed all the time." In truth, she had been needed back at the shrine quite a fair amount. Being the current Gongūji left her almost always busy dealing with and aiding the new Miko. It wasn't something she didn't enjoy; quite the opposite in fact! It was just a time consuming practice, and one that usually left her quite drained. Thankfully, she had an hour or so before she called her "day off" to an end.

Sitting down on one of the benches in the shopping districts, Antoinette took the time to crack open one of her new books, reading the back before actually starting at the beginning. She liked reading the synopses. For her, this was set to be a rather ordinary afternoon; at least, that was her hope. She had no idea of the individual that she was soon to meet.

[Luke Clyburn]

”Alright! Line up! Sit!”

After issuing the commands and clapping his hands together, the line of furry butts plopped down on the grass. Some of them started panting, excited, while others focused on the Bount giving them orders, waiting for what came next. Each dog that obeyed the command was tossed a biscuit as a reward for obeying. Smirking to himself with unjustified smugness, Luke looked at the seven dogs who obeyed his commands without any problems whatsoever. It sure was weird how Luke also had the ability to tame any animal without any effort at all. It's such a weird thing he could do. It must be an instinct thing. But of course, this begged the question of why Luke Clyburn, of all people, the world's strongest Bount, was training dogs.

It was his side gig. He needed to have some sort of official job to his name so that the government didn’t come sniffing around. Being a self-employed dog trainer was something he could put on any paperwork that called for it. Luke thought about being a bouncer, which would require too much time. He thought about working construction gigs, but that also demanded way too much of a time investment. He needed self-employment. Something that he could do whenever he wanted and needed. So, he wound up advertising himself as a dog trainer. People had pets. Some pets misbehaved. Some owners couldn’t handle that. Luke had mental manipulation abilities on account of being a Bount and looked terrific in tight-fitting t-shirts like Cesar Millan.

It wasn’t like this was a real job. Luke just needed it to seem like it was if any officialbody came asking about where he was getting his money. But it turned out he was actually really good at this. He hadn’t even needed to use his Bount abilities. It turns out dogs just really respected him. What’s more, it was actually kind of fun getting to mess around with animals for a few hours. He was able to work on his own hours, make some side money, and have some fun while he was at it. Well, it's mostly fun. Everything mainly was going swell. Except for one thing. One little runt in particular.

The labrador retrievers listened. The German shepherds listened. The Shiba Inu’s listened. But this one little Boston terrier just refused to listen to Luke. Correction. It listened half the time. This little shit, Moochi, seemed to only listen to Luke when it would benefit him the most, such as getting a treat. Then, other times, he just didn’t care at all. In this instance, for example, Mochi wasn’t sitting like the rest of the dogs were. He was just standing there, side-eyeing Luke suspiciously. Luke glared back at the little runt that had been giving him trouble all day. ”Oy. I said sit.” Luke ordered with a frown. Moochi didn’t move and instead just stared up at Luke. ”I said sit.” Luke ordered again with growing frustration. Another dog suddenly barked. ”No, not you. Mochi, sit.” After being commanded three times, Mochi suddenly loudly gagged and spit something up.

It had been like this all day. Every dog listened and was well-behaved except for this one. Deciding it was time to ensure they behaved on their walks, Luke leashed them all up and started walking. Anytime any of them started acting up, like pulling on the leash or barking, Luke would quickly correct the behavior. They were listening and learning quickly to stay calm on walks even when they saw other people and dogs. Except Mochi. He would stop to sniff everything. He moved slower than all the other dogs. This little shit would bark at children. He would start pooping randomly while he walked as well, not stopping and squatting like an average dog would. He was driving Luke insane.

Walking through the shopping district with all eight of the hounds, he was once again stopped by Mochi, just deciding to do what he wanted. That damn little shit let out the most horrible, disgusting gag Luke had ever heard a dog make and just spat up next to the foot of a woman sitting on the bench. ”You gross little shit, what the hell is actually wrong with you?” Luke barked at the dog, who simply side-eyed the Bount without turning his head. He then started to lick up what he spat up. ”No! Stop!” Luke shouted, yanking the dog up only for Mochi to try and bite him. ”Fucking… sorry about the show! He’s a handful.” Luke said to the woman on the bench, suddenly wishing he could just erase this one particular dog from ever existing.

[Antoinette Harper]

Pulled quickly from her book from the rather horrendous sound of dog vomit, Antoinette, quickly lifted her feet up from the ground, keeping her knees tucked tightly together. Not so much a look of disgust, rather one of concern rose to her face as she sat side-saddled on the bench. Looking down toward the small animal, she thought about reaching down to pet it, but decided against doing so.

As a man with rather interesting hair called out toward the animal, Antoinette couldn't help but chuckle, placing one hand close to her face while she did. "He seems like quite the handful~" she teased. In truth, it was reasons like this that kept her from actually getting a pet of her own. It wasn't something she was particularly fond of, and wasn't wanting to clean up... messes, like these.

Though, it seemed the dog was more than willing to do that on his own.

Nearly gagging at the sight of the animal starting to lick at the ground, Antoinette laughed once more, almost as a way to cope with the situation. It was... quite the way to meet someone, if nothing else. "It's quite all right," she said, glancing over her shoes, "doesn't seem like anything got on me, so no harm no foul, mm~?" Her attention went back toward the man standing in front of her, slight twinges of spiritual capability resonating from the man. While she most certainly wasn't apt enough to pick it apart, it was curious nonetheless.

Placing her chin on the back of her fingers, while her elbow rested on the arm of the bench, she started on toward the man. A small smile rose to her face as she took in his form. "Well, seeing as fate has brought us before one another, perhaps I could steal your name, mm~?" At the moment, she was predominantly gauging for reactions from the man. While she certainly wasn't against any sort of conversation, she was curious as to just who - and what - this man was.

Taking the opportunity to pack up her book, Antoinette slid the paperback into one of her bags, making sure to neatly do so. Last thing she wanted was any sort of damage befalling the book before she had the opportunity to read through it a couple times. Though, seeing as there was someone new to read into, she felt that delaying that wasn't such a bad idea. At least, for the time being. "Care to tell me a bit about yourself~?" She maintained that same smirk.

[Luke Clyburn]

Luke really was on the verge of launching this little fucking dog into the stratosphere. This wasn’t even supposed to be a real job for him and yet he was getting irritated and frustrated like it was. After apologizing to the very pink-haired woman it seemed like there was no harm no foul. She was dressed up like a shrine maiden, meaning she was probably either a cosplayer or someone who actually did do such a thing for a living. The way she was looking at Luke made him blink though. Like a cat looking at something to play with. Curious, Luke decided to extend his Energy Sensory out and feel about her reiatsu. Doing so rewarded him with some information that he was rather surprised about. This woman, dolled up like the maiden of a shrine, was one of his kind. Another Bount.

The woman asked his name before he said anything back to her. ”Oh, uhm, my name’s Luke. You are?” he asked, giving a quick tug on the leashes to get the dogs to stop moving and sit. Mochi, of course, disobeyed and remained standing. But when Antoinette asked if Luke would tell her about himself, the Bount blinked and just raised an eyebrow. ”Normally I would but I’m working right now. These dogs aren’t exactly mine.” Luke explained. While normally he would have just ended the conversation right then and there, he decided that maybe he should actually indulge this woman in conversation. It seemed like there were new Bounts popping up every time Luke turned his head so it might have been a good idea to actually engage with them.

”There’s a dog park down the street where I can drop these mutts off for a while. We can talk over there if you don’t mind.” Luke offered, leaving it up to her as he started walking off in that direction. Didn’t take him long at all to reach the fenced-off field. Seems it was pretty busy today too. Plenty of other dogs running around playing. Whatever grass the field might have once had must have been stomped down because the ground was nothing but sand at this point. Letting the dogs he was responsible for off of their leashes, including Mochi, Luke watched as they ran off to go play with the other dogs. Now he could focus his attention on Antoinette.

”Alright sorry about that. What did you say your name was?” Luke asked as he found a seat on a bench, one random dog came over to sniff his leg, before running off as if scared.

[Antoinette Harper]

As Luke introduced himself, Antoinette gave him another simple smile. "It's quite the pleasure to meet you, Luke~" She cooed. If nothing else, this man was quite interesting. She couldn't quite explain it, but she felt a level of... kinship with this man. Though, she couldn't quite explain it. Something that she'd simply make a mental note of, and try to be hopeful about with the conversation to come.

As the conversation and situation continued, offering Luke to take a seat next to her, she was quickly displeased with his words. "Aww," she complained, "can't you just let them go or something?" She crossed her arms, with a childish pout painted across her face; one that looked much more sincere than jovial. Still though, it seemed that Luke was willing to at least have conversation, as was said with the offer to head to a nearby dog park.

"I'd love to~!" She'd cheer, taking her time to pack up her things, making sure that everything had been grabbed. Especially after doing a bit of shopping. The absolute last thing she'd want was to leave anything behind. Though, there was still one thing that she'd need to address before heading over there. Pulling out her phone, and sending a quick text to those at the shrine; 'Going to be late. Family emergency.' Stashing the device once more, she smiled toward Luke. "All right~! Ready to go when you are~"

---

As the two walked down the street to the park, Antionette simply hummed to herself, admiring the sights of the town while they continued. She wasn't going to be making much small-talk during the walk there, simply answering comments that Luke might've had while they went. Instead, she focused her attention toward him; looking to pick up on any mannerisms, his posture, and really anything else that might've been good information to have. Still blissfully unaware of the fact that he was not only a Bount in Karakura, but rather the Bount in Karakura, she was preparing for a quick hunt.

As the two arrived, with Luke letting the dogs off the leash, Antionette smiled. Seems that her request, while not quite what had been asked, was fulfilled. "Oh!" She started, when prompted about her name, "how rude of me! My name is Antoinette!" She felt no need to lie to him, given how she expected the situation at large to unfold. Though, she'd have to work toward that where possible.

Sitting down next to the man and practically brushing up against him the whole while, she spoke. "So, what brings someone like yourself to Karakura, Luke~? Work? School? Perhaps even the women~?" She chuckled. If nothing else, she was simply gauging for reactions at the moment. Trying to pick apart just what would've been the best option to lull him into a sense of security.

[Luke Clyburn]

She seemed nice. Luke wasn’t quite sure why this random gal was so eager to talk to him but making more friends was never a bad thing. Actually, maybe there was a reason she was so gung-ho. They were apparently both Bounts after all. It seemed like there was always a natural pull between Bounts that made them want to interact. Luke had experienced it numerous times at this point. Maybe that’s what it was. Either way, she seemed nice. Friendly as well. She had no problems with Luke putting the dogs under his care first and didn’t seem to have any issue with moving the location of their conversation to the park. He did notice that she was practically brushing up against him the whole time as he sat down.

”Antoinette huh? It’s nice to meet you.” Luke replied with a friendly smile, stretching one arm across the back of the bench and crossing one of his legs across his knee. Before Luke could start up the conversation he’d immediately be bombarded with a question. She wanted to know a bit about him and what brought him to the city. He couldn’t help but chuckle at her eagerness. It seemed reasonable to ask about work and whether or not he was in school. But he found her asking if he was in the city for the women a little odd. ” Hah, well, I’ve actually lived here for a while. A few years in fact. I’m not in school though I’ve thought about going a few times.” That wasn’t really true. Luke hadn’t thought about college for years. The life he lived wouldn’t allow for it.

”Though I guess you could say I’m here for the work. I handle project management for a local company.” Not exactly the whole truth but not quite a lie. Luke was a bit between jobs at the moment. While he worked for Uzaki Enterprises he had in fact been the manager of his own department. But now he was transitioning into a position with Xcution where the scope of his responsibilities would be broadening greatly. ”Clubs and stuff though? Not opposed to them but not really my scene." he said despite at one point living, and working, out of a club that was once a prison. Oh, and also now working with another Bount in town who was running her own nightclub as well. "I find myself really busy all the time. They're fun to go to every now and then though. There’s certainly beautiful women who live here and you can meet them there if that's your thing.” Luke replied, happening to notice Mochi sniffing another dog’s rear end.

Thinking about it, yeah. Luke had to agree. He started running through the list of all the women he’d met while living in Karakura. Shizuka, Yetsuna, Aura, Timor, Taka, Eris, and some others he was probably forgetting. Obviously the feelings he had for some in the list were magnitudes stronger than the others. But, y’know, Karakura wasn’t the worst place in the world to go to if you were looking for beautiful women. The city just had a way of bringing people in. ”What about you though? Are you new to town or a local face? What brought you here?” Luke asked, returning his attention to Antoinette.

[Antoinette Harper]

Giving the same smile back toward Luke, Antoinette gave a simplistic smile as well. "Much the same to you, Luke~" She did what she could in order to keep up appearances with the man. Thankfully she'd a bit of proficiency in lying in general, so something like this wasn't going to be too difficult for her. Plus, he was friendly! It was easy to meet that energy; especially when he seemed to live a rather interesting life as well.

Tapping her chin, the girl nodded her head. "University isn't a bad option~!" She replied, "if nothing else, it helps provoke a feeling of accomplishment. Even if it's not something you're going to use a whole lot, having a degree is still quite the accomplishment~! What've you thought about going for, if you don't mind my asking~?" She found herself genuinely interested in seeing the path that Luke would've opted to pursue. Especially after having gone into the field she had; she was a perfect example of a 'not very applicable' degree!

"Oh, that's quite good to hear!" She exclaimed, softly clapping her hands together, "if you don't mind my asking, where do you work~? I might work close by if it's here in town!" While she wasn't sure if disclosing that sort of information to someone she was planning on killing was the best of ideas, but it was semantic at best. It couldn't hurt if he asked about it, but she wasn't going to go out of her way to do so.

As conversation continued, and mention of Luke's opinion on the clubbing scene was brought up, Antoinette found herself giggling once again. "Oh, I'm not sure that's my style much either," she started, leaning in a bit closer, "I'm more looking toward the men~" Pulling back quickly thereafter, with a smug grin on her face, she tried to gauge his reaction. He hadn't taken the bait to start, so perhaps laying it on a bit thick might've been the better option? "What about you~? Surely you've met some women that pique your interest, mm~?"

In time the ball drifted back into her court, prompting a response on her past from the Bount in front of her. "Oh, most of my life has been spent out of the country~! I'm from the States, actually." She chuckled. "Acquired my degree around ten years back, and only recently decided to make my way out here. I can't quite put my finger on it, but something within the last few weeks drew me in~" Giving him a sort of side-eye, the girl gave a lighthearted, but not-so-innocent smirk.

"Perhaps that something was you~?"

[Luke Clyburn]

Whether she knew it or not, Antoinette wound up asking Luke a rather interesting and thought-provoking question. What would he have gone to college for? Luke wound up blinking and giving that question some thought. What would he have done had his life taken a different trajectory? What if he had avoided Karakura altogether and decided to pursue a completely normal, average, human life? ”Hmm, if I had the chance..” Luke started to reply, contemplating it for a moment before saying ”then I’d probably go back for automotive repair. Work on cars and what not. That stuff has always been really cool. But that just wasn’t the way things worked out.” he replied with a shrug.

Now she wanted to know where he worked. Wait, she wanted to know where he worked. And he was working for Xcution. An assassin organization. Luke had even started to reply, opening his mouth to blurt it out, before rationality kicked back in. ”Haha well… that’s the thing. The place I worked went under. The boss was embezzling money and got caught doing some stuff. I still instinctively say what I used to do, but got bills to pay so now I’m doing this dog walking stuff until I can get something steady again.” Luke replied, scratching the back of his head to really sell the down-on-his-luck look. Probably helped he was wearing a blue sweater he hadn’t washed since last weekend either.

”But it ain’t that big a deal. Gets me outside and moving.” he added before the conversation shifted towards the clubbing scene. Luke wasn’t entirely sure how he wanted to navigate this conversation. He wasn’t really the type about who he dated and what it was like being with them. He didn’t even really like talking about other people’s appearances around other people. He wasn’t the gossip type. Antoinette had leaned in closer to him and replied that she was more interested in the men than the women. Then why do you keep asking about women? Luke asked himself. ”Hey hey, what kind of man talks about other women when hanging out with one?” Luke asked with a chuckle and shrug.

”Oh are you really? I am too. I moved here a few years ago. How difficult was learning Japanese for you? I can speak it rather well but reading it still gives me some problems sometimes.” Luke said in response to her revealing she was also from the States. So she was another Bount from America. Odd that they kept coming here, to this one city, in this one nation. But then she revealed why that was the case. Luke blinked. "Perhaps that something was you~?" Antoinette wound up saying while Luke interpreted it in a completely different way. Something within the last few weeks had drawn her here huh? Luke could hazard a guess to what that something was.

It was only a few weeks ago that he had awoken from his regenerative slumber. When he was freed from the icy tomb he had been kept in the reiatsu that had been stored all that time was set free, releasing like a geyser into the air to celebrate his rebirth. That energy had been felt all across Japan. But Antoinette wasn’t the first Bount Luke had met who told him a similar story. His power hadn’t just been felt across the archipelago, it had extended much further into other nations. Now Bounts were coming to Karakura. ”Is that right?” Luke asked, completely missing the point of what Antoinette was trying to do. So what was he supposed to do now? ”That’s one heck of a trip to make just cus of a feeling, y’know?” Luke asked, leaning back against the bench and returning his gaze to her. ”What was your life like back in the States, if you don’t mind me asking?”