Wings of Day and Night [R, NDE]

[Kazura Uzaki]

"Of course." Kazura moved to access a small minibar in the corner, pulling out various drinks. Water, soda, some things a little stronger... "Take your pick, Ms. Shinigami. I still don't know your name, so until you tell me that, I'll simply continue to call you by your race." Selecting a cold bottle of water for himself, Kazura sat down on the mat of the dojo. Standing was unprofessional, and it appeared that both the possibility of conflict and the flecks of romance were currently being snuffed out. The two of them would simply talk business. What business Kazura could possibly have with a Shinigami... well he didn't know. But she was more or less harmless to him, so he thought it best to give her the benefit of his attention.

[Deleted]

"Hm ..." Katrina eyed the alcohol suspiciously. "I suppose it's normal to keep ... that in a place meant for martial training?" She cocked a slim eyebrow at him, obviously not believing he just 'happened' to store them here. Regardless of his answer, she would just take a water, then take a seat opposite him. "I ... cannot back down. This is for the betterment of the Soul Society." Her eyes rose to meet Kazura's. "Before we begin, tell me; how much do you know of the way the worlds work? Of the Soul Society and Hueco Mundo? Of Hell and the Soul King?"{/color] As she waited for his answer, she sipped her water.

[Kazura Uzaki]

Hmm... These questions were hard. On one hand, Kazura could pretend to know all about them, even though he never heard the words Hueco Mundo and didn't really believe in Hell, nor did he know that there was a Soul King. He could be prideful, sure. However, if he acted dumb, he might be told a whole lot about all of those places. He'd just have to give up his pride. Or he could be honest, which was silly. Or not. It probably just was best to be honest, but vague. That kind of thing. "I know a bit. I've met quite a few of your kind, and quite a few of other kinds as well." Yay honesty, yay being completely vague.

[Deleted]

'Good. That will save some time.' Her eyes studied Kazura. She had to admit she liked him a bit more than she should, particularly when you take into consideration the fact that she has lived several times longer than him. 'I'll just have to keep this professional. That ... shouldn't be hard.' She didn't sound very convinced, even to herself. She shook herself slightly, her silk-like hair shuddering, separating into individual strands before falling like a curtain of ink again. Now that she was here, all her nervousness, her trepidation about what she was doing, fled from her, leaving only burning-hot conviction in it's place. She was doing what was best for her family ... and her world.

"Our worlds are constantly besieged by evil beings, Kazura. We are overwhelmed by them, and the Soul Reapers are not enough to contain the flood that is threatening to flood." Fire danced in her blue eyes as she studied Kazura. "We are at a disadvantage, the Soul Reapers. Our enemies are many, and we are but one race. And we cannot focus on just the slaying of hollows, Bounty, or other Abominations. We must govern the world of the benevolent, prevent malicious souls from escaping Hueco Mundo, and much more besides." Her voice had lowered as she spoke, as if saddened or ashamed by this proclamation.

"More importantly, we are oftentimes too late to be of much help. Travel through the Senkeiton is slow, and though we can send and receive information nearly instantaneous, our responses are limited to the speed of the responders." A smirk spread across her face. "As you can imagine, this is not always the fastest method." Then a sigh exploded from her. "I bet you are wondering why I am telling you this ..."

She stood up then, too agitated to sit any longer. "What I am about to offer ... what I think you should accept ... is a once in a lifetime offer. Once made, no other Shinigami will offer it. Were it not for the fact that I care more for the continued existence of the worlds than for my own freedom, I would not even think to offer." She took a deep breath. She felt as if she were teetering on the edge of a knife; one wrong move, once misjudged step, and she would be sent tumbling over the edge. "Yet ... I cannot help the feeling that you are the man whom I have been waiting for."

She appraised him again, her calculating running up and down his chest. "You are strong, you are handsome, you are intelligent, and, more importantly, you have the power and means to spread your power and intelligent." Katrina took another deep breath. "And you can spirits. You are my last hope, Kazura." A small smile, the first he had seen, broke through her mask. "We are not enough. The Shinigami cannot police our own world and the World of the Living. It is impossible and foolhardy. No, we must rely on humans to lead themselves. But they must have a leader, a man whom knows about the other worlds, who is charismatic, charming, and perhaps most importantly, has the strength and honor to make others look up into him." Her gaze locked onto him, holding him still with the force of it. All of her hopes for the future, her desires, dreams, and even her very future she was putting into his hands. "That man is you, Kazura."

[Kazura Uzaki]

This was a lot to mull over. Taking a long drink from his water bottle, Kazura was visibly contemplating all of the information that Katrina had just mentioned. His usually blank expression was shaken as he poured over this offer. First, how did he know that she had the ability to back up her offer? She was incredibly weak as far as he could see, though she also had an air of nobility about her. He had no real way of knowing what that meant in the Soul Society. Besides that fact, he was completely baffled as to why she was even giving him this offer. She had looked so angry with him, even seeming like she wanted to kill him after he touched her sword, and now she was all buddy buddy. Maybe these Shinigami valued strength above anything else?

After thinking hard for a good minute, Kazura slowly shifted into business man mode. This was a sales pitch, nothing more, in essence, and it seemed a bit too good to be true. So he had to gather more information. "I'm prepared to listen more to your offer. First, what would you expect from me and, second, what would you be offering in return. I've already been involved in meeting and assisting others of my kind, leading them even. What beyond that would you want me to do? And lastly, by what authority does this offer come? I can't have my efforts being torn down because my benefactor did not have enough weight in the politics of where you come from."

[Deleted]

Katrina calmed herself, settling into the chair across from Kazura and taking a calming sip of water. His questions were valid ones, and ones that needed to be addressed promptly and correctly. But the bait was taken; he was interested. "I'll answer your questions in order, Kazura. First were your expectations, correct?" His eyes met hers, with a sly smile on her face. "What do I want from you? To help me in my fight against the threats that pose a danger to our world." Her fingers entwined in front of her, on the table.

"The Human World is the staging area for many attacks against the Soul Society. It is also where Arrancar stalk and hunt your brethren to be used as food- or worse. With my help, you can stop this. For millennia, the Soul Society has struggled alone to cleanse the world. But it does not have to be so anymore. With my help and your resources, the world's need not fear the creatures in the dark." She then tossed something on the table. "That's a Soul Phone. It's dual part communicator and computer. With it, our Squad 12 sends Shinigami out in the field live reports on hollow threats and the like. With your technology, I am sure you can reverse engineer it. Consider it a gift.More than that, I can provide you with exclusive information and unique technology, available to Soul Reaper alone."[/color]

She gave a deep sigh, running her hand through her hair. "Now, I believe I answered two of your questions. As for any authority I may possess ..." Her eyes flashed dangerously, her back straightening. "I am Katrina Anne Kawada, of the Noble Kawada, and Fifth Seat of Squad 2. I have the authority, trust me." This was technically a lie; giving away Soul Reaper technology was illegal, as was giving away trade secrets. And were it ever to come to light that the Kawada family was funding a wanted man, they would be disgraced. But, it was worth it. She would sacrifice a lot more to ensure the safety of those she cared about.

"So, what will it be? Power, knowledge, and the ability to fight off these invaders to your home, it wallow in the darkness forevermore?"

[Kazura Uzaki]

Huh, this girl seemed to be either really desperate, really foolish, or just really good at reading people. Tossing Kazura the Soul Phone was just the key into his heart. A new piece of tech to work with that could monitor and track the location of Hollow attacks was exactly something he needed. And according to what she said, she wanted him to keep doing what he was doing, except she would be giving him access to more resources to do it better. How could any sane business man say no to that? "I access the terms of your offer, Lady Kawada. To a long partnership." Sure, toasts with water bottles weren't classy, but she hadn't wanted the alcohol, so he toasted with water.

[Deleted]

Her face absolutely lit up; this was perfect. The beginning to her plans, to Project: Network, was beginning. So it wasn't such a bad thing she ended up here then. She smiled at him then, a true, genuine smile. "Cheers. To a long and successful partnership." She sipped, then excused herself. "I really must go. I will find my own way out." And with a quick flash step, she did just that.

FIN