Happy Days are Here to Stay! [Shio/Ulv]

Work was finally settling down once more, after no small amount of unexpected activity. There were a great many who felt that the slower, lazier days of patrolling the streets for yet another plus that was reluctant to pass along, and quickly giving a lingering demihollow a rap on the head, before they became a serious problem. But Shio found it relaxing, almost meditative to walk the streets of the human world, even if it was a little harder in these days. He'd heard the stories of when shinigami moved unseen and unheard, as bold as anyone else. But now, there were a lot of awkward questions the moment you drew your zanpakuto. Nothing he wasn't prepared for, to be sure. If anything, Shio preferred the questions and situations that arose as a part of following the basic job requirements. It made him feel, if only for a short time, as if he weren't immersed up to his neck in a mire of shit and insecurity.

And today, he now had to scratch his head lazily, staring at a man who appeared to be a member of the local law enforcement, if he was any judge. They were speaking to him in rapid-fire chunks of language, one hand resting near their gun. There was a relaxed stance, but it was clear at any moment he just might get it into his head to draw his weapon, or start shouting for help. He sat there in silence, letting the words wash over him for a few long minutes, before raising a hand in a conciliatory gesture...or at least what he hoped would look suitably conciliatory to this culture, and cleared his throat.

"I speak Japanese, English, and a small bit of French or German. Francaise, Anglaise, et Allemand. Do you speak any of those languages?"

A moment's pause, as the officer's brows furrowed, before he nodded, rumbling out slowly, in thickly accented English.

"Soul was already taken. I suggest you get out of the streets before someone who talked to your friend gets it into your mind to complain to you. A few looked very angry, and if a mob comes to attack you I can't really stop them. You're not a citizen."

Shio's smile never wavered, but he did square his shoulders ever so slightly, brows shooting up as he looked around him, as if he were seeking an explanation; or looking for the aforementioned mob. As if he hadn't already been able to taste it on his tongue as soon as he'd arrived. Shio had developed a sort of extra sense for hostility, and it had hung heavy in the air today. If someone had already come and spirited away a plus, and if the Gotei was getting flak for their actions, then it stood to reason he had to investigate this matter soon.

"Could you please show me which way they took the soul? I need to confirm that it's being handled adequately. Think of it like...checking on a prisoner."

"Prisoner is very good description. I hear stories of Rukongai. Head east, warden. You will find your prisoner."

Something about the scorn in his voice made Shio's skin crawl, for a split second, but there was little he could do about it besides let it roll off of him, as he'd done countless times before, and begin to follow the trail towards...whoever would be daring enough to snatch a plus out of a public area, when it was well-known that shinigami had remarkably fast response times in this sphere of influence.

Something told Shio that he was about to need a very large dose of pain relievers. Perhaps a premonition of the future.