InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "he was debauched & desperate"

ukitake_jushiro (ukitake_jushiro) wrote in endless_epitaph,
@ 2009-10-03 00:52:00

Entry tags:

bodega bay-california, naomi glover, ukitake jushiro

Entering the Death God in need of a fix!
The Players : Ukitake, and whoever shows up
Where : Bodego Bay, CA
When : February 3rd, 2009.
Rating : PG-13 so far
Notes : Ukitake is in a gigai, a 'false body' that resembles his own, and dressed as close to the American norm as he can, but to anything with a sixth sense he's pretty much 'not from around here'.

Thirteenth Division was spread thin already, running communications from the main divisions and the scouts scattered around the human world. Unohana-san hadn't liked the idea of releasing him to active duty so soon, but there just wasn't enough bodies to go around for all the work, and Jushiro refused to be a burden on his subordinates.

America was his assigned scouting territory, and he was glad he knew as much English as he did thanks to Hershey, Pennsylvania. If there was a paradise on this world, that town was its embodiment.

The best course of action was to start on one coast and work his way across the country if he could, searching for Aizen's trail. Soul Society didn't deal too much with the Western countries, they had their own oni and troubles. Hollows had never been reported past China, so the Gotei had focused their attentions on their homelands, but thanks to Aizen's malice and ingenuity, they were forced to expand their attentions.

"Oh! A bagel shop!"

It was a major hardship.

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fantoccini
2009-10-03 08:17 am UTC (link)

Naomi Glover had just had one of the oddest nights imaginable. Not only did her mother's newly purchased hotel come with what appeared to be a living puppet, but she was very nearly killed herself by a would be intruder. If it weren't for the fact that the curious puppet she'd found had saved her life, she would be another statistic in her own hotel. And then she had been forced to spend the entire night at the police station answering questions and for her own safety.

Suffice to say, she was now released and in need of food. Luckily for her she had just stumbled upon a bagel shop. "Ooh, bagels!" Now if that wasn't a way to ease oddities from her mind then nothing was. Now she just had to decide what exactly she wanted. Sometimes life really was hard.

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ukitake_jushiro
2009-10-03 08:26 am UTC (link)

He held the door open for the young lady, smiling and sniffing the air inside the shop appreciatively. "After you Miss."

His stomach grumbled and he mentally apologized to Unohana-san for once more regulating her diet to the trash bin. "Oooh! They have the basil garlic spread! And cinnamon sugar bagels."

Only the fact he was holding the door open kept him from bouncing.

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fantoccini
2009-10-03 08:35 am UTC (link)

She smiled and nodded at the very polite gentlemen at the door. "Thank you very much." She resisted the urge to bow out of formality since that was a habit she'd picked up as a child, but at the mention of cinnamon sugar, the young woman nearly bolted to the counter to place an order. She was just about to order said cinnamon sugar bagel when she noticed they had chocolate as well. Now that just wasn't fair. She really wasn't the type to worry about how much she ate but she did have a limit on consuming things. She was now officially torn.

"There's too many..." Damn it, now she noticed the apple nut ones too. "How can anyone choose?"

Yes, this apparently going to be the worst choice of the day for her and not what to do with a hotel and living puppets.

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ukitake_jushiro
2009-10-03 08:38 am UTC (link)

"Go for all of them!" He grinned at the woman behind the counter and proceeded to order a bagel of every flavor, with an extra side of the spreads.

"And then if you can't eat them all, give them to people who are hungry." He beamed a grin at the distraught girl.

The cashier gave him a strange look, especially when a few gold coins tumbled from his pocket before he found his 'credit card'. Gah, how did people keep track of these things, they were so flimsy! Did they really use these cards for money?

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fantoccini
2009-10-03 08:46 am UTC (link)

"That really isn't a bad idea!" She said with a grin and she was prepared to do just that, except for the fact that she tried to live on a self made budget and that kind of spending wouldn't allow for it. She would settle for ordering one of each of her true favorites, leaving her with almost a dozen she would no doubt have to give away.

Though she was currently distracted by the strange though friendly man's actions. Not to mention the gold coins that fell from his pocket. Her brow furrowed in curiosity. Who in the world carried gold coins? She'd ask him just that if she were of a different nature, but sadly she was too polite for her own good. "It's also a very generous gesture.. do you do that often? Give away food I mean." That wasn't nearly as nosy and certainly wouldn't be considered rude, would it?

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ukitake_jushiro
2009-10-03 08:53 am UTC (link)

"Oh all the time. I can never eat it all, but it all looks so good I have to buy it, you know?" he scooped up the coins and pocketed them, handing over the card and taking the first of four boxes being filled up for him. "All my friends raid my place for food, and there's plenty of people who need feeding these days. I guess I got in the habit with my siblings. I have so many, I'm just used to buying enough to feed an army and then the army comes along and eats whatever i don't these days anyway!"

He rambled happily before tearing into a plain bagel with a heavy dose of the cheddar chipotle spread.

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fantoccini
2009-10-03 09:01 am UTC (link)

"I honestly don't think I've ever had that dilemma of seeing and buying." He was certainly a talkative fellow and he seemed nice enough. It caused her mood to brighten more and her usual shy ways to be slightly sidelined as she placed her own smaller order with another worker. "It sounds as if you have a lot siblings. I only have two myself." Though she was definitely used to feeding them as she grew up. "I've always thought that was plenty.. but for you to compare them to an army... Just.. wow."

She shook her head. There was nothing wrong with that of course. She just couldn't imagine having that big of a family, not with her parents anyway. It would just seem awkward at best.

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ukitake_jushiro
2009-10-03 09:09 am UTC (link)

"I have five younger sisters and two younger brothers. And of course most are married now so they bring their spouses and kids by." he laughed. "My youngest niece is still a toddler, and the oldest nephew just entered the Academy. And I'm still supporting half of them while the economy tanks." he tucked a strand of white hair behind his ear and gave the cashier a bow before blinking at the slip of paper presented to him.

Ah! He was supposed to sign it! Easy enough.

"Uhm, Sir? Is that... English?"

Right. English. Crap. "Ano... just a sec, my letters have never been very good."

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fantoccini
2009-10-03 09:18 am UTC (link)

"Wow, that really is a large family." Naomi couldn't decide if she was envious or not. She was the oldest in her family so she most certainly had no nieces or nephews yet. If she had there was no doubt there would have been some serious problems in her family that would be no match for the traditional workaholic tendencies that surrounded the Yamada/Glover household. Still, she was definitely a little in awe of being able to handle that kind of numbers.

At his signing faux paux it was then she realized that he was probably a tourist. She was a horrible person for not noticing! Maybe he needed help or something. "You aren't a local?" She asked although it was obvious by now. "Because your English is rather good. Better than my grandfather's and he's lived in California for ages."

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ukitake_jushiro
2009-10-03 09:25 am UTC (link)

"Ah, I've been practicing for years." he grinned, carefully writing out his name as he sounded out the letters. "Business means lots of travel, and speaking English is important these days, even if I'm one of the few back home who knows very much. But writing is so tricky! The letters just aren't right, and they have no meaning! How are you supposed to tell that one Ryou means 'distant' and the other means 'dragon'? You can't write out 'First son of a fisherman in East Aizu by the surname Snow Step', there's no room on the line!"

The cashier boggled confusedly.

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fantoccini
2009-10-03 09:36 am UTC (link)

Naomi gave the cashier a sympathetic look. The man's argument sounded just like her grandfather's and she decided to say so. "You sounded like my grandfather just then. He says almost the same thing to us when he treats us all for dinner... though I think he fakes his moments of lost in translation just to drive my mother mad in public. He likes to keep her on her toes."

Though she was raised in a Japanese American household that they were, for the most part, very much Americanized. "I have to admit, I find it easier to learn English than anything else, but I suppose I'm a little biased and all." Her own order was handed to her but she didn't dare enjoy her goodies until she paid for her own things. It was just in her nature to wait.

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ukitake_jushiro
2009-10-03 09:45 am UTC (link)

"Ah. My friends tell me I'm an old man." he finished off his first bagel and started in on the second, an apple flavored one with honey spread.

"But I am I suppose, white hair and all, yes? So I'm allowed to be a bit set in my ways. English is hard! It's got all these weird noises that Nihongo doesn't, and so few letters, and all the words look the same... ahh it's just confusing. Speaking is mostly okay, but I can't keep up with all the slang kids use today. It's like a whole new language you have to learn."

He tucked the first three boxes into one bag that shouldn't have had room for more than a single box, and picked up the last one, taking his card from the cashier with a wink that had the poor guy making flustered noises.

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fantoccini
2009-10-03 09:52 am UTC (link)

"You don't look old to me!" She exclaimed with a smile. And his hair was not the strangest thing she'd ever seen. She was from San Fransisco after all. "I don't think anyone can keep up with slang these days. It changes too much and too often. I can barely keep up with what people my own age say now." Which was why she tended to limit her own slang to the easiest words that most understood.

Her mouth opened slightly in shock as he piled his boxes in the bag. How.. how had he done that? Oh how she wanted to ask about it! Curse her shy and polite ways. Instead she merely paid for her own order and shook her head again. "I think I'm the opposite.. I found it much easier to speak Japanese than write."

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ukitake_jushiro
2009-10-03 10:07 am UTC (link)

He chuckled and finished his second bagel, brushing off some crumbs from his sleeve. "That's because of the kanji. Kanji is always a bit hard before you get the basic forms down. Be glad they don't make you learn the differences between on'yomi and kun'yomi readings these days. They just say 'it means this' and never bother to tell you why. We used to have to know all the histories of all the kokuji kanji before we were allowed to master the basics of the on'yomi."

He paused in his selection of another bagel and thought about his past schooling. "Huh. In fact I doubt they bother to teach you any of that until graduate language studies. Feh, so much has changed."

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fantoccini
2009-10-03 10:14 am UTC (link)

"It took me forever to get the kanji down in a way that was acceptable to my grandfather." She had enjoyed learning it but it was definitely one of the harder things she'd had to learn in her life. "Even then I think he only accepted it out of pity and not actual learning ability."

Once her own order was paid for she finally pulled out a bagel from her box and took a bite without checking which it was. She was pleasantly surprised by maple sugar flavor. "Now you're just making yourself sound older than I think you are." He couldn't possibly be as old as he was sounding. He sounded far too much like someone who'd long since put to bed the days of youth and innocence.

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ukitake_jushiro
2009-10-03 10:20 am UTC (link)

He laughed. "Age is in the mind! I never want to get too old to enjoy sweets and snacks. Then you're too old to enjoy anything!" He pulled out a bagel and looked at it curiously. It was faintly pink.

"Lychee?" A bite proved him wrong. "Ah! strawberry! I didn't know you could put those in a bagel!" He chewed and swallowed. "Ano... It's not very good." he shoved it back in the box and hunted for a different one.

"Do you know a park around here? We can get some fillings and make this a picnic!"

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fantoccini
2009-10-03 10:29 am UTC (link)

"I don't think anyone could ever really be too old to enjoy those things." Except maybe her mother, but as the man said age is in the mind and her mother was older than her years due to her own making. But then again she was married to a toy maker and puppeteer so maybe that was her mother's way of embracing her child at heart.

"I think you can put anything in a bagel, though it doesn't always turn out so well." She wasn't too fond of the jalapeno flavored bagels she'd come across. Some things just weren't meant for consumption.

She thought hard as she chewed another bite of her bagel. She recalled seeing a park in town but where was it? "Oh!" Ah yes, now she remembered. "There's one a couple of streets over. It's not very big but it looked nice enough. I'll have to ask your forgiveness on my recollection.. I only arrived here in town the other day so I'm not completely familiar with my surroundings yet."

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ukitake_jushiro
2009-10-03 10:41 am UTC (link)

He waved his hand dismissively (and the bagel in it). "I got here an hour ago, it's no trouble at all!"

He held the door for her again, eyes scanning eagerly for another shop. there was a small deli, a 'Safeway' he assumed sold first aid things and medicines, and a few other stores he couldn't rightly discern from just the signs.

"Bagels are like rice back home aren't they? They go with anything!"

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fantoccini
2009-10-03 10:48 am UTC (link)

"Thank you," she said as she walked out the door. Once outside she too scanned the street making mental notes of where everything was for future notice. She was going to have to do some proper supply shopping later on.. and that brought up the thought did self moving puppets eat? "Oh I can think of a few things I wouldn't eat with a bagel, but I admit that it's very short list. But I've always like bagel sandwiches myself. I lived off of them every morning when I was at school."

She pointed to one of the more welcoming looking shops which was the deli. It didn't appear to be a chain and she always did like shopping at local businesses in whatever area she was in. "We could start there if you like."

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ukitake_jushiro
2009-10-03 10:56 am UTC (link)

"Sure! We just need a few basics I think. Ah! Forgive me, I'm so rude I completely forgot my manners!" He gave her a bow. "My name is Ukitake Jushiro, I'm here from Aizu prefecture for a while." He scratched the back of his head and laughed. "Actually, i have no idea how long I'll be here. I'm sort of scouting the area for a place to set up shop. I'm looking for an old friend whose gone missing."

That wasn't quite a lie. Azien had been a friend once, and they were both old. And when he found the cold-hearted bastard he'd take great pleasure in separating the traitor limb from limb and burning the remains to fine ash.

And missing was close enough to hiding. Really. It was all semantics anyway.

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fantoccini
2009-10-03 11:07 am UTC (link)

"I think I'm as rude as you are then!" The fact he bowed to her was good enough reason for her childhood habit to pop up and she had to bow in return. "It's very nice to meet you, sir. I'm Naomi Glover. I'm here to to do some reconnaissance on the inn here that my other purchased and wants to refurbish." She didn't elaborate any of her own strange events, but really, who in the world would believe that she was rescued by a doll? Not even a tabloid like the Inquisitor would believe her story.

"May I ask what happened to cause your friend to go missing?" She headed toward the deli with a slight bounce in her step despite her question. It was always nice to meet interesting and new people especially ones as polite as he was. He was quite possibly another decoration to the cake that was her very odd week. It made her wonder what would happen next. "Or maybe a description? I could keep an eye out for him if it would help."

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ukitake_jushiro
2009-10-03 11:19 am UTC (link)

"We had a bit of a fight and he stormed off. I haven't heard from him since and I'm starting to get a bit worried."

He tried to kill everyone, and me, and we barely managed to destroy his major forces before he slunk off to hide like a dog with his tail between his legs and I'm worried when he's done licking his wounds he'll start plotting another attack.

"His name is Sosuke Aizen, and he's about my height, my age, with brown hair and eyes. Very well spoken, very smart, ano... I guess he's handsome if you go for the charming type. He plays the prince well, but I wouldn't want him courting one of my sisters, she'd get her heart broken." He laughed.

She'd end up an experiment in one of his labs or a hostage before he killed her and that charming smile hides poisoned fangs. I'd rather sleep with a pissed off asp.

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fantoccini
2009-10-03 11:30 am UTC (link)

"Oh, that's terrible! I hope you find him and work everything out." If there was any dishonesty in his words she didn't notice it which was likely all well and good.

She shook her head. He didn't mach anyone she'd met or really seen since arriving in Bodega Bay. "I don't think I've seen him around here, but then I haven't talked to many people yet." Unless she counted the local police department. And despite their questioning they seemed rather nice if a little unsurprised by her night of trauma. "Maybe you should check with the police. If you let them know then they might be able to help."

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ukitake_jushiro
2009-10-03 11:41 am UTC (link)

"Ah, I might do that. I don't want to cause him any trouble though, if he's not really 'missing' and just avoiding me." And the fewer civilians that chanced running into the man, the better for them. "He's already mad at me after all."

Very mad, since this was the second time Aizen had failed to kill him, and he'd still managed to hide the bulk of his power from the megolomaniac. Aizen didn't know how strong he was, he still had an advantage there.

"You have an inn? Are you taking patrons? I haven't had time to find a hotel to stay at yet."

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fantoccini
2009-10-03 11:53 am UTC (link)

"That's a good point," she said with a nod. "If he's just avoiding you than that would just make him more upset and defeat the purpose of trying to settle things."

Oh dear. Now that was something she hadn't thought of. Someone actually wanting to stay at an inn. She should have kept her mouth shut. But to say no would just be rude and it would be nice to have someone else new to the area around. And she honestly didn't think that little puppet was a bad fellow. He'd probably just lay low and that was okay, she wouldn't dream of kicking the little guy out since he was her hero. "We aren't officially taking patrons yet, but I know we plan to." And her mother would never say never to anyone wanting to stay, though she would charge them full price despite not being open. "So if you need a place to stay, you're welcome to stay there. But I do have to warn you that um.. there was an incident last night. Someone broke in and attacked me, so the police are investigating still and I'm still doing some work there as well. It could be a little less than acceptable to some."