A summer snow.

Styn had been spending alot of his time in the last few months on the outskirts of Karakura. Fortunately without running into the capricious Reigen Akogi, an encounter the demon was sure wouldn't go as well a second time around. While it was true that he was a magnitude stronger now then he had been then, there was no reason to believe he had seen even a fraction of the rogue demon's might. Regardless, it wasn't thoughts of Reigen that were cluttering his mind, it wasn't even thoughts of the gang of demon blood abusing humans he had encountered months ago.

Oh sure, he was spending all this time around Karakura to try and discover the drug that they had been consuming. It was one of his many projects after all. Shadow Fall was a very competitive organization and new information would always have a place in the posturing that happened at his new level. It still sometimes amazed him. The sort of things he had to worry about now that were not factors mere months before. He was pretty sure the acting Grand Duchess of his circle wanted him dead. Even that wasn't the real reason he was wandering about the human world though.

No, it was actually much simpler. He just needed to get away from the demon world for a bit. The secret project that he was currently a part of sidelined him from the big stuff going on elsewhere. All sorts of interesting things were happening that he wasn't particularly involved in. That was merely a side effect of the real problem with the project though. While in the demon world, Styn could almost feel the fabric of his identity being unraveled. The shared experiences being forced into his mind in the Dying Game had too many resonate notes on his home plane.

It was only here, in an area that none of his new memories were close to, that he could clear his head and relax a bit. So he walked the streets of Karakura, on the outskirts, as entry into the dome was strictly controlled and monitored. Not that the demon would particularly relish being so close to the seat of some of the strongest humans in the world. This city was so different from the areas currently under demonic control.

Styn stood not quite six feet tall, taller then average perhaps, but not in a way that stood out. His medium build accentuated his averageness, he wasn't quite slim, but fell short of heavily muscled. Dark green hair only an inch or so in length, could possibly be a dye job. Pale violet eyes, while a questionable fashion choice, were not outside cosmetic modification. Both ears came to slight point at the apex of their arc, something easily overlooked. His teeth might be a bit sharper then normal for a human, but they retained the same basic shape and placement. The demon's nails also came to a point and were thicker then common, but were by no means long talons or claws. All and all - discounting Za Koa which was naturally suppressed in this base form - Styn would go unremarked in most locations. Unchallenged was another story entirely.

The Knight of the First Circle sported a dark green business suit, almost black outside of direct light. The pale violet tie was clearly meant to bring out his eyes, which were somewhat concealed behind a pair of gunmetal gray glasses with translucent bottom rims. Black dress shoes capped out the attire, with especial detail paid so that the combat boot soles didn't look out of place. Still the effect lacked a certain something. First of all, his white button down shirt was untucked, which his unbuttoned dark green jacket didn't quite conceal. His tie was loosened at least an inch, and cocked slightly to the left. His pants looked a bit rumpled and his shoes were scuffed. In addition his eyes had heavy dark bags under them and his stare was half lidded, giving him the appearance of someone tired or sick.

In the end Styn could be considered just eccentric enough to be completely unremarkable. A really trained operative might be on the lookout for someone who was too ordinary. The demon on the other hand could easily blend in with his slightly beat down surroundings. Some things however, did not quite mesh so well. In fact Styn found his gaze caught by a small waif like form mincing her way toward a set of monkey bars in a nearby park. It wasn't any sort of aura or spirit pressure that he detected however. His attention was caught by something far more corporeal.

Is that a tail?

This of course had him checking to see if anyone else was surprised by the development. Of those in immediate view, only a few of the children and an adult or two wore expressions similar to Styn's own. The rest of those present completely ignored the girl. Or are not aware of her in the first place.

The lack of a soul chain ruled out ghost, the lack of a uniform tended to rule out shinigami, the lack of a mask ruled out hollow. Of course there were still countless other possibilities. As a demon, Styn of course was completely grounded in the physical plane, and didn't have to worry about limiting his interactions with the spiritually aware. This creature on the other hand did not have that luxury. The fact that she wasn't as of yet going on a rampage was a good sign, something told Styn that his meddling wouldn't be appreciated though. He found himself reluctant to approach this oddity.

Still, Shadow Fall was always on the lookout for new talent, he'd be doing his organization a disservice if he didn't at least feel the girl out. A few quick steps had him walking beside the child, gaze straight forward as if he was cutting across the park for a shortcut to the other side of the lot. Speaking low pitched so as not to draw undue attention, Styn's eyes ended up catching a nearby storefront and inspiration struck. "Good afternoon little miss. On behalf of my organization Shadow Fall, I'd like to extend a small tribute to you for disturbing your territory. Perhaps one of those crepes I see in that store ahead would be satisfactory?"

It was always best to start from a position of respect with the unknown. If this area wasn't claimed by Yuki, then Styn was sure she would let him know soon enough. Although the demon wasn't looking at the child, there was little doubt his words were addressed toward her. It only remained to see if she would follow him to the store or ignore him to pursue her own objectives. For his part Styn would treat her somewhere in between the child she seemed to be and the ageless creature she might yet turn out to embody. When your race could look however they wanted, you tended not to put too much on face value.

yuki could see some people taking notice of her, but not running away in fear. with her bodys changes she did not look like a skeleton any more. her arms and legs were not bone thay had meet on them and her hollow hole was well hidden. its only normal that with how human she looks people would second guess them self's on whether she is a threat or not, the fact she has no evil aura aids in the resolution that she is not harmful. how misleading things can be.

Yuki was happy any ways as its easier to catch prey that has their guard down. but there was something here... something walking by her that was not human... its smell and feel was quite different.. less tasty. as the man was talking yukis eyes would intently switch to him as he said Shadow Fall. that was the name of a group that has a lot of hollows and demons in it. This man was not a hollow that's for sure so he must be the latter. yuki would be feeling a little nervous as her nature was UN-trusting, he could be here to hurt her all the same. once the man mentioned Crapes though, yuki was more then willing to follow him to the store at least, being childlike was also in her nature from never really growing up. yuki decided to not say anything about this land being hers or not. as she did not own it and if he knew that she may not get the yummy crepe.

"YES that sounds good ! i want a Crape. amm Mister Sir Demon?" she was unsure what to call him. Yuki's eye's were bright and shiny as her tail switched thru the air showing her joy. " hmm can i ask why are you here? I mean if you have moneys to buy yummy things to eat why come this close to humans? they taste good but it's more work than just going to a store and buying stuff." though it did not look like it as yuki skipped alongside the man she did have her guard up. waiting to see if he turns on her so she could strike him.

It still sometimes shocked him how inferior his spirit sensing was. Without physical contact he was still in the dark as to what sort of creature that Yuki was. This wasn't the first time that his true nature had been easily deduced by the people he had encountered. Still, Styn didn't interrupt the child to supply a name just yet. Even among adults it was generally considered bad manners to interrupt people when they were talking. Children could be even more unforgiving of such slights.

Styn was glad for his restraint. Although there remained an animal weariness in her eyes. Yuki was clearly enjoying the direction this particular walk was taking. The girl had a sparkle to her her violet eyes as her tail twitched in anticipation. Yuki even began to skip slightly to keep pace with the demon's longer stride. Since his pace wasn't inconveniencing his young companion, Styn stuck to it.

As they cleared the park the demon finally turned his head to regard the slim form to his right, just as she finished her inquiries. "Well first of all just call me Styn, or Mr. Styn if you'd prefer. Sir sounds so stuffy doesn't it?" Styn said, scrunching his face up in a slightly over exaggerated way to let her know what he thought of such a title. "As far as to what I'm doing here? That answer is a bit more complicated."

"While its true that I have more then enough money to buy a snack or two, I don't always have the time to spend it. You see, my bosses like to give me lots of work to do. I like to come to human places like this to relax, sometimes I even get to meet interesting people like yourself!" Styn smiled without a hint of sarcasm to reassure the girl that he was being serious. Honestly he really was too. It wasn't every day that one came across an unknown factor.

The two of them had come to the street that separated them from their ultimate goal. Casually Styn held his hand out to see if Yuki was interested in holding hands while they crossed the street. She was at a difficult age by her appearance. From her actions Styn was tempted to put her mentality a little bit below the twelve or so years she showed. Her actual age of course was a moot point of course, maturity trumped age almost every time. It wasn't so much that the demon felt that Yuki was dumb, as it was that she seemed so childlike.

Still, many girls in this difficult time period liked to think of themselves as grown ups. If she declined the hand or expressed any resentment or disdain, Styn would smoothy shift the offending digit back to his side. His easy smile would attempt to convey his respect for her opinion, assuring her that he would treat her like a big girl. This was really a two part goal. One, it would help him define a mental age to the youngling trailing in his wake. Two, if he was able to make physical contact, he'd finally have a better idea of what he was dealing with.

Regardless Styn continued to head toward the crepe shop. It was really more of a trailer then anything though. To pass any potential awkwardness that might have arisen moments before, Styn continued an easy dialogue. "Now you might be thinking to yourself. What is so great about humans? Well believe me, I had a similar thoughts when I first came here. I've found that these short lived creatures can be impressive in their own way, with the proper direction. Much more valuable then just a fleeting flavor."

The demon was clearly comfortable talking about the potential death and consumption of humans. Styn didn't really feel anything at all for the poor souls consumed by hollows and killed in the multiple wars that had wracked their little planet. At the same time he wasn't really eager to add to the bloodshed and carnage. "For example," Styn continued, "Compared to demons, humans are much more artistic. Their music and culture submissions are generally more interesting then the things I grew up with in the demon world. Just some food for thought," Styn finished casually as they came to a stop outside the crepe shop.

Styn placed his order. One strawberry and cream crepe, one chocolate banana crepe. Tracking Yuki's curious eyes Styn smiled with understanding. "Sprinkles on both of them as well please." If the attendant thought it odd that he had ordered two, or that he was talking to himself as he'd walked up, there was no reflection of such a curiosity in the man's eyes. He had crafted the crepes with bored efficiency and taken Styn's money in much the same way. With both confections in hand, the demon led the girl to a bench nearby.

Sitting down Styn judged from Yuki's gaze which of the treats was more appealing. He then offered her the crepe with a slight flourish, as if presenting a bouquet of flowers. If she seemed hesitant before eating, the demon would take a bite of his own to reassure the child as to the safety of the food. It had seemed from her reaction that she was familiar with the product though, so Styn was pretty sure that it wouldn't be a problem. For the moment the demon was content to allow Yuki to enjoy her chosen crepe.

Yuuki would gently smile at the demon as he made a funny face. he seemed to be a nice enough guy so far. yuki lightly under her breath would say. "Mr. Styn." as if she was trying to commit it to memory as she was. yuki looking up at the man would ask him. "So they make you do a lot of work... Is it hard? what are your bosses like? ...I lived in Karakura city for a while and tried to get a job... but all the humans were mean. " yuki would have a small gleem of sadness in her eyes as she spoke of this. it was not a memory she liked.

As Styn offered his hand yuki would place hers in his seamlessly and without hesitation. her tail flicking a bit. yuki liked talking to others and interacting with them.how long had it bean since she has talk to someone she did not want to eat? how long has it bean since she seen something other than a human? she could not really put a estimate of time to this.not so much that it was so long ago, but her concept of time was weak at beast.

as he talked of the high points of humanity Yuki would lower her head and slightly tilt it to the right. if he caught a glimpse of her eyes would have grown dark, one could say that they appeared soulless or full of disdain. Yuki's facial expression for a moment was also blunted. she know thees things were fun. she could remember Len taking her to a nightclub,the dancing colorful lights and music were like something out of a dream. one she had a rude awakening from. "humans stuff is fun... but there only food in the end. nothing more, they can't be trusted... there liars ." Even yuki energy would get a level of coldness to how it felt.

As they got to the venue yuki eyes could see all the images of sweet treats placed around it for advertising and her demeanor would change back almost instantly as if someone flipped a switch. her eyes becoming bright ones again and her tail flicking happily.

as they was sitting on the bench she would happily take the chocolate crepe from him taking a sizable bite out of it. "mMmm its so sweet~ i love it. its hard to find humans this sweet. most are weak and bitter tasting or even sour.I don't like the non-sweet ones as much." yuki looking is the man would have a perplexed expression on her face." hey do all demons that come to the living world where suit? Ive only ever seen one other demon in this world and he had a suit on. he also had green hair now that i think about it.O i know MR. Styn do you have a brother? "

The world was filled with liars, not all of them were human either. For his part Styn preferred to take people at face value and adjust from there. As far as Yuki was concerned, she seemed really genuine, so he had little problem believing that her demeanor was natural and not an act of some kind. His initial assumptions about her mentality seemed to be closer to being correct by the second. At least for now, she was acting even younger then you appearance, by Styn's judgement of such things anyway. Child psychology wasn't exactly something that he spent much time pursuing. Heavens, I think I've spoken to more children since joining Shadow Fall then in my entire life before that.

The information he was able to glean from the brief hand to hand contact while crossing the road, was enough for Styn to finally classify what sort of creature Yuki was. The energy pattern was pretty distinct, the demon was only surprised that there were no apparent traces of hollow mask around her facial features that he could detect. He made no attempt to keep in physical contact, releasing the small hand as soon as they had crossed the street.

Yuki seemed full of questions, a normal pattern for a kid Styn supposed. Her reaction to humans was darker then mere apathy though. The air itself almost seemed to chill the more he droned on. There was little innocence in the suddenly empty eyes that stared through him, seeing a past that the demon could only guess at. So its not all rainbows and sunshine after all huh? Somehow Styn wasn't surprised. Most arrancar were once high level hollows. You didn't grow up big and strong by eating your Wheaties either. You ate your family, or whatever passed for hollow relations.

Then in another moment it was all smiles and involuntary tail twitches once again. Styn got the feeling it was all she could do to keep from bouncing around like a pin ball. He was glad that she seemed to be enjoying the crepe. After a few moments of silent chewing Yuki continued and the questions took a more chilling direction. The chances that the demon Yuki was referring to was Reigen Akogi were extremely high. Considering how much influence Reigen had with the local authorities, Styn would hate for the older demon to think he was making a nuisance of himself. Pissing off the Immoral Dealer just about tops my list of things not to do.

Styn laughed nervously, hand cupping the back of his head. "Ahh, no not my brother. For one thing he wears a much nicer suit," Styn joked. "Our relationship is a bit complicated. I'd say maybe rivals would be the best comparison. I don't consider him an enemy though. We're in similar lines of work really, I work for my bosses as I mentioned before, and Reigen...well Reigen only works for himself."

Seeking to change the topic, Styn decided to answer a few of the earlier asked questions. "Speaking of work, I'd say its challenging more so then hard. I'm not dead yet so I guess I'm doing something right. My bosses are the sort of people who don't take failure very well, strict and unforgiving more then mean. Oh and most of them are completely insane so that's always fun," Styn said with a laugh. "You should come work with me sometime little miss, Shadow Fall is always looking for talented assets. Not only that, but we're the bad guys so we don't have to follow child labor laws."

Styn smiled while saying it, but he clearly wasn't joking this time. He could tell from his earlier contact that Yuki was no weakling. A chip on her shoulder when it came to humans wasn't exactly uncommon in the organization. It seemed that if you didn't out right despise them, you still at least enjoyed subjecting a weaker species. Styn was considered very moderate in his approach to most demonic values. Probably why he didn't have many friends. Still, happiness wasn't a popularity contest.

As Yuki finished the first crepe, Styn would offer the second. If declined, he would start munching on it himself. Styn raised a finger to his lips, face taking a slightly puzzled cast. "You still haven't told me your name actually, we can't be friends if I don't know at least that much," Styn said with a smile. He just hoped that referring to her as a friend wasn't going to set off another firestorm of bad memories for the girl. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.