The Most Important Meal of the Day [PRIVATE]

Hideo Yuudeshi

Breakfast. It was, in fact, the most important meal to many. To those working on night shift, it was the last meal. To those poor fools who had to work with normal people, it was the first. To someone with free time like Hideo, breakfast was whenever he wanted it to be—and he wanted it two hours ago. The plane had, somehow, run out of food besides those cheap-ass crackers and pretzels. It would be one thing if they still had peanuts, but nooooo, people still had to have allergies. It was fucking 2417 for Christ's sake. You could get rid of that shit decently easily. It wasn't like Hideo was on some low-budget economy flight. Nope, this was a business-only flight. Tickets were too expensive for most. Even so, they couldn't serve peanuts.

And yet, that wasn't the thing that annoyed him most. Hideo Yuudeshi had not had a good day. Well, besides getting Doctor K's permission to go home. That was fantastic. That was also the only good news he had recieved. His flight was delayed by two hours. He had planned to be back in Karakura by about eight in the morning. It was now ten, and he still wasn't in Karakura proper. They had to land early. Why? Food poisoning. It was almost a reenactment of Airplane!. It was thanks to a random passenger that they were able to land at all. Hideo was angry he didn't have breakfast, but glad that he didn't have it on the plane. Going back to the hospital would only be more of a pain in the ass.

So Hideo was about half an hour out of Karakura. No big deal, right? He'd just get a taxi. Ten minutes outside of Karakura, right at the edge of the forest... the taxi's wheel—yes, the wheel, not the tire—broke. It was apparently in that bad of condition. He did not give the driver a tip as he yanked his carry-on out. Hideo would walk the way back and catch a bus or something. If his cell phone hadn't fallen and shattered, he'd just call up a car service. He hadn't interacted with any sort of network to call a car before. He'd get one of his younger brothers to help with the more mundane uses of a cyberbrain. The thought of them was the only thing keeping him in a relatively good mood.

Hideo knew a few shortcuts through the forests to the city proper. He may show up a bit sweaty, but he knew his brothers wouldn't mind that. He didn't tell them he was on his way back, and he had instructed (and bribed) the hospital staff to not tell his brothers he was released yet. He wanted to give them a surprise. He thought about their faces—and how surprised they'd be to see him. It was a great thought. Not many people were excited to see the bastard oldest brother. He didn't have a reputation of good deeds and world-changing ideas like any of his siblings or relatives. He was fine with that though. Hideo didn't want to take away from any of his brothers' accomplishments.

Unfortunately, such deep thought ends up distracting someone even if they have a highly complex cyberbrain. Hideo nearly stepped onto the edge of a steep embankment. If he had continued, it was enough of a fall to almost guarantee significant injury. He sighed and made a note of where it was. He'd get someone in the government to deal with warning signs or a barrier of some sort. As he turned to find his way around it, Hideo saw a young... something or other about to do the same thing. He couldn't quite tell if it was a short and feminine boy or a short and androgynous girl.

Hideo used shunpo to cover the distance between them. He skidded to a stop, yanking them up by their collar. He exhaled, glad he had saved them just in time. He rotated the short being over to face him, his eyebrows cocked in confusion. "So, uh, what are you doin'?" If they were a fugitive, he'd just summon his Zanpakutou and carry them like a bucket of water—his Zanpakutou holding their kimono by the collar like he was already doing. If they were in trouble, Hideo would deal with the trouble if he could. If they were being an idiot, Hideo was going to stop them from being an idiot.

Kaminari Hatakeyama

Great day! Weird day. Hungry day... But Kaminari didn't want to return to Karakura. The city was just too much for her! It was a maze of the unknown, random strangers scattered about in a hive of metal and electricity. She couldn't believe a lot of the stuff she saw and a lot of it she didn't even understand. The primitive world she had been lost in with Silver was miles and years behind this world. It was overwhelming and holy mother of molly she needed trees. The moment she could make a break for it, Kaminari made her way back out of the city and into the forest. She kept closer to the roads at first, but too many people tried getting a little too close. They made the forest feel so much safer.

This forest was still different than what she was used to. When she first arrived, she didn't get a chance to truly look around at it all. She tried taking in some of the scenery, but her eyes were caught mostly on the blue sky. Wasn't it supposed to be green? And the leafy prickles on the floor were called grass here. She wasn't sure she agreed with the name. Lilocks felt a bit more realistic than "grass." Oh well. This world was weird, but it was where she came from and she was going to have to get used to it. As long as she didn't get too distracted by the sky...

Kaminari suddenly felt land disappear from her feet. She was about to tumble forward off some sort of cliff when her collar was grabbed. As she was lifted, she put her hand on the hilt of her zanpakuto and was turned toward some person. "Me? Oh, I'm not doin' nothing. I'm just walkin' and getting lifted up by men with white hair and a scary face. I'm also lookin' for a friend. You're not him, but he has hair like yours' color. I thought it'd be rarer since most people's hair here seems to be some shade of brown. He's not so tall to pick me up, though as strong as, yep. So.. well, um... what a yooouuu doing?" The insecure young woman, completely caught off guard by her rescuer, hung there wide eyed, trying to put off some sort of playfully innocent nature as she swung her legs back and forth.

Hideo Yuudeshi

Well, it didn't take long for Hideo to get his answer. The it was a she. Hideo knew where not to grab her then. He also knew that a punch to the groin would not be as effective if it came down to that. He had no plans to do so though. Hell, Hideo could just drop her as-is and kick her far enough away. This girl (or extremely effeminate guy, but he'd go with girl for now) was tiny. She would be an adorable football if she tried to fight him. He imagined that if he did that, she'd probably squeak too.

Hideo's eyebrows went up more in confusion as she continued to speak. She was... odd. Really, really, really odd. Not quite as odd as his family, but she'd fit right in with them though. Hideo noticed she was just sorta kicking her feet back and forth like she were on a swing or a ledge. She almost looked like a puppy with the way he was holding. "Apparently," Hideo started, "I'm savin' little girls who ain't watchin' where they're steppin'." Hideo turned her towards the embankment. "You nearly fell down there. Unless your friend is a vulture, a mushroom, or dead, you probably won't find 'em down there." Hideo thought for a moment. She said her friend had hair like his. "Your friend ain't a Yuudeshi, is he?"

Hideo didn't want to end up being rough with one of Shadin's friends. That would not be a great return-home gift. "Hey little bro, I've been gone for five years and I'm back. Plus I roughed up one of your friends." would not go over well with him. After getting a thankful confirmation that she didn't even know what a Yuudeshi was, Hideo was able to relax. And by relax, he wasn't going to let her down. She was still an unknown, and her case was definitely not one to bother Shadin with. "Well, then what is your friend's name? I'm kinda from here, so I might know where to direct you." It was at that moment, Hideo's stomach decided to rumble. His mouth drew into a line with only one meaning: "That just happened."

Kaminari Hatakeyama

First impressions mean a lot! First impression of this man was white hair and shortist. He lifted her from her feet and hasn't let her down. He holds her by the collar like a kitten in trouble. He called her a little girl. He was a shortist! As she was turned out to the embankment. She blinked and looked back to him. "Thank you. I was distracted by the sky. Don't ask why cause that's a long story that I'm sure you're not actually interested in." she said with closed eyes and waved her hand as she explained. She opened one eye, looking at the ground, as if expecting to be put down. It still did not happen! Was this guy trying to pick a fight? Could she take him? She could try, but... she could sense that he wasn't a slouch.

"His name i-..." Kaminari's attention was snapped to this man's stomach as it suddenly growled. She blinked and stared at it for a moment before reaching out and patting it. "Hungr- UuuUUuuUUuuh..." Kaminari was suddenly shaken by her collar and quickly became a little dizzy. It took her a moment and a shake of her head to recover. She looked at him and stared for a silent moment. A smile popped onto her face and she pat her own stomach. "Wanna buy me breakfast?"

Hideo Yuudeshi

God, this girl was weird. It was a good kind of weird... like his family. It wasn't the kind of weird that meant she needed to spend some time in the happy home. Hideo was curious about that "long story," but he wasn't going to just ask her about that. He didn't even know her name, why would he ask about her life story? That was just the tip of the iceberg of reasons why he wasn't going to ask her. Unlike the Titanic, Hideo was going to steer away from that one. "You're welcome." Hideo nodded, but still refused to set her down.

Hideo began to question this little thing about her friend. He may know his name off the top of his head. It was unlikely, but still possible. He had a bit of a description—short and white or off-white hair. That did narrow it down, but he'd have to be a bit closer to the Yuudeshi network to do that kind of search. Thinking about all of that apparently made his metabolism burn off just enough for his stomach to gurgle. It was somewhat embarrassing, but more than that it just pissed him off. That lazy ass taxi driver who didn't take care of the mechanical aspect of his car wouldn't let him eat in the taxi itself.

While Hideo's mood was souring, the girl in his arms patted his stomach.

Hideo glared at her. Without warning, he shook her like he was trying to get all of the change out of her pockets. It was rough, and he was satisfied by the end of it. Her reaction was just cute enough for him to forget his annoying day... for now. And then she did the same to herself, asking the most audacious question he could think of. "...now why the hell would I buy you breakfast?" Hideo looked at her like she just claimed the sky was filled with sparkling rainbows and it was raining pistachio-flavored taffy (an unfortunately true flavor). He lightly shook her again, gauging her. "I mean, you are kinda light enough for me to just pick you up like this and continue to do so... so you do need more meat on your bones."

Kaminari Hatakeyama

The look on his face made Kaminari inwardly chuckle. She didn't show any signs of laughter besides in her eyes, which were a little bright and metaphorically sparkling. "Well, I don't have any money from this world and I haven't eaten in days. I probably could have gotten a meal from Liu, but she was kind of creeping me out. She was cool, but had this weird fixation on liberating me from stuff, which was weird because I feel pretty darn free. Starving, but free..." Kaminari blinked as she realized she was rambling, "Sorry, um... Please? Sounds kind of lame, but I actually don't know how this world works with currency. Last place I was in traded food for food... Rice for fruit, wheat for... meat. I don't know..."

"Also..." Kaminari put her left hand on her zanpakuto, using her thumb to flick the blade out of the sheath by about an inch. A sudden wave of reiryoku washed over the area and she reached up and grabbed firmly onto his wrist, showing a strength that matched his own. "If you don't mind, I'd rather not continue to dangle here. I accepted it at first because you prevented me from falling, but there's only so much I can handle. I know I'm not as tall as you, but I'm a person too, you know." Kaminari showed quite a bit more confidence than before. He had caught her off guard, but she was better now. "Also, I'd pay you back once I could."

"My name is Kaminari Hatakeyama. What's yours?"

Hideo Yuudeshi

Hideo had a strange interest in this young girl. She seemed to have a lot of unknowns about her, and she was jumping from topic to topic. No, it was more like she was jumping from thought to thought. She was energetic, her legs still swinging back and forth. Hideo listened to her reasons why. And he was immediately set on buying her breakfast. He'd play it off of course, but Hideo was a decent guy. He wasn't going to let a poor, starving girl continue to be both of those things. Which is also why he was going to get her a job somehow too. Well, first he had to find out how old she was. She might still need to be high school with how young and short she seemed.

The moment the blade left its sheath, Hideo tensed. The skin on the back of the hand holding her up boiled and began forming a tumor. ...or so he tried. Hideo went still. "Put your Zanpakutou away. Now." He was going to try to out-bluff her. "If you don't, I will toss you down that cliff and there won't be someone to stop you from falling." There was a bit of a stare-off, but eventually, Hideo relented by setting her down. He stepped backwards a few feet. The difference between then and now was the sword in Hideo's hand. It was not drawn, but it was there.

"So what the hell are you? A rogue Shinigami?" Hideo was ready to take her in. She had just threatened him with a Zanpakutou. Breakfast was, unfortunately, now off the table. Adrenaline was feeding him now. "I don't take kindly to people threatenin' me with their Zanpakutou." Hideo was no longer flippant. If he were to shake her now, it would be more like a girl at spring break swinging her shirt around. And she had been so nice too.

Kaminari Hatakeyama

Kaminari hadn't used her zanpakuto in quite a while. She forgot how much it startled people sometimes. She had not reached for her blade with her dominant hand and only gave it a bit of a flick, but the feeling often felt when her shikai became active wasn't fun for others. She felt guilty immediately and it showed on her face. However, his threats only made her annoyed and she stared blankly at him. She understood her own power more than he did. He wasn't going to be able to throw her like that. Soon, he relented and put her down. She sighed as she used her thumb to slide the katana back into its sheath and resealed her shikai.

"It wasn't a threat. You're being nice, mostly, so I wouldn't attack you." Kaminari looked down to her zanpakuto and pat it before resting her arm on it, "To be honest, it's just my way of showing I'm not a slouch. You just kept me hanging there. You weren't letting me down because you knew you could hold on as long as you wanted. How would you feel if someone came up to you like that and just held you there, dangling like a helpless animal? It showed me exactly what you were thinking of me and it was offensive. I don't think I deserved that. Besides, my hand went to yours, not my sword. I wouldn't take flicking my zanpakuto a bit as being a huge threat with the basic knowledge you have of me. Your reaction showed me that I proved my point. You immediately put up your guard and stepped back... I'm no slouch and you know it now. I prefer to be shown some respect since I wasn't being offensive, rude, threatening, or anything like that. Maybe childish, but eh?"

"As for your question, I am not a rogue Shinigami. Are you?" Kaminari shot that question toward him both playfully and curiously, "I am a Shinigami though, at least that's what I was told. My friend, Silver is his name. Well, it's what I call him. He taught me whatever he could about my world. We got stuck in another one after this huge fight we had with some gigantic demon. Only recently have we returned here. We got separa-..." Kaminari's mouth formed a line. She was rambling again. She blinked and looked at him before clearing her throat. "Look, I'm sorry if that startled you. I know my power is weird and it doesn't make people feel the best. I usually don't use it because of that. So, Hideo, should I assume breakfast off? I'd still pay you back if you feel you can tolerate me still. Whatcha think?"

Hideo Yuudeshi

The only reason Hideo did let Kaminari down was the guilt in her eyes. That look stayed in his mind until he finally sighed and did so. Kaminari probably didn't mean to do what she did, but it was enough to send alarm bells off. He reacted as he should have. As she spoke to him, explaining her reasoning, Hideo had enough early on. "Hold up." Hideo held up a hand, signalling her to stop. "I wasn't holdin' you like that simply because I could or anythin' like that. It wasn't an insult, or me tryin' to be a bully." His face went from placid anger to sympathetic defense.

"Honestly, I've never done it before, so I was havin' a bit of fun. I also recently got out of a hospital, so I also wanted to see how long I could hold something that heavy without my arm givin' out. Seems like I'm still good." Hideo stretched that arm. Hideo then smirked. "You kickin' your legs around reminded me of a puppy. It was kinda cute, I think. Also, you didn't ask to be let down. Don't some girls like to be carried by big, strong men?" Hideo may be tall for a Japanese man, but he was not built like the men he was describing.

Kaminari continued somewhat, explaining a bit more. He definitely disagreed with her comment that flicking a sword was a threat. It was. He had seen people able to cut someone to ribbons with just as quick of a move. It was always something he took seriously. Hideo disappeared his Zanpakutou again. "Well, unless it's to save you from not payin' attention or somethin', I won't pick you up like that again." Hideo was surprised with how calm she was acting now. It was very different from before. "I was, but that's all been cleared up now. I work for better people now anyways."

Hideo thought for a moment. He shrugged. "Nah. I'm too hungry to care now." He motioned for Kaminari to follow him. "I'll have to take you to my workplace after this though. If you don't know much about yourself, my family and I can try to help. My brothers are scary smart. So, subject change. What do you want for breakfast?"

Kaminari Hatakeyama

Kaminari's cheeks puffed a bit when he interrupted her. She was TALKING. Rude. His explanation was just as offensive! At least, at first. She was just some toy? He was doing it for fun! She preferred his second reasoning, even though she wasn't fond of being used either! And then he continued with his insults. A puppy!? And she didn't ask because it should have been obvious! Who holds someone like that?! She just blinked in confusion at the last bit. "I guess? I don't know. I figure most women prefer being held close, not... by the collar." Kaminari raised an eyebrow at him. He knew what he did wasn't the nicest thing... Anyways...

"Thank you." she said, "Though if I'm not paying attention, you could just wave your hand in front of my face... or snap." She snapped her fingers in front of her own face to demonstrate. She obviously had someone else do things like that to her in the past. As the conversation continued, she found out he was a rogue. She didn't care. There wasn't a single change that would show she gave a darn about that. She had a full on conversation and asked a favor of a demon; she didn't care about that either. Kaminari was an open-minded and accepting person.

Kaminari followed him along with a jovial walk. She was energetic and cheerful. She had been so bored or freaked out since she got back to this world that it was nice to find someone who felt more... like him. They were different, but the white hair gave a physical similarity while the way he treated her was also similar sometimes. This guy was definitely more crude though... "Um.. Breakfast. What do people have for breakfast here? If you have something you like, you should pick. I'll just try it. Maybe it'll help some of my memories return." she said happily, letting that bit slip without much care, "Oh. So why were you in the hospital, Hideo? You get into some sort of accident? Oh, and you always treat women like that?"