Tea Parlors and Policies[Shio/Aiko]

"I'm sorry Sir, I really am. But you have to leave your weapon outside, or in our care."

Shio's expression, as ever, was calm and soothing, giving off little more than the faintest hint of confusion, and yet as he stared at the woman in her flowery, outlandish dress, he could see her sweating and twitching. Was it something about his outfit? Shio liked to believe he was pretty good at blending in, and while his outfit was a bit...colorful for an everyday human, it wasn't that incredibly hard to swallow. Or perhaps it was because he was just so patient and calm. Wasn't that how most serial killers came across, according to the news reports he'd read? Quite amicable and kind, until it was too late. All the same, his zanpakuto was...a bit more than a personal weapon. Leaving it out of his care would be foolish, and probably cause to get reprimanded.

Shio very much did not want to get reprimanded.

"Can you explain that to me, dear? Do you often have people entering your establishment with less than a foot worth of metal ending in a point? Is this a...regular occurrence? Or are you profiling, perhaps?"

"No! No, no, we wouldn't let -anyone- in here with a weapon! We just don't want to see anyone getting hurt, you know."

"What I do know is that unless you search everyone from top to bottom, or have metal detectors, you can't keep -everything- dangerous out. This seems more like a...token gesture, to me. An attempt to cover your asses, and reduce liability. If you claim you don't let people in with weapons, then when someone sneaks in with a weapon, it's not on you. Something to that effect?"

The woman's smile was frozen in place, brows furrowing; clearly she hadn't been trained to deal with a case of a customer asking questions of this sort. She began to back away, gesturing towards a passing individual. This one was a man, dressed in a rather convincing butler outfit, who moved forward with remarkable grace and speed, before bowing to Shio deeply. Shio bowed back, a slight smirk coming across his face. He couldn't help it; something about this chat was starting to entertain him.

"What seems to be the problem, Sir?"

"Oh, no problem. We were just discussing your policy regarding weapons."

"We don't allow them, Sir. It's that simple."

"And I applaud you for the sentiment! But how are you going to keep everyone with any dangerous object out? You'd go bankrupt, don't you think?"

"I daresay a knife is quite a bit more dangerous than a spoon."

Shio bit back his immediate response on that front; certainly, a spoon could be more than deadly enough in his hands. But he couldn't let them know that, or he'd be out on his ass in record time. Instead he just bowed his head, and then smiled.

"Sir. I am perfectly trained in self defense. I have absolutely no desire to use this weapon. No matter what the liberals say, having a weapon doesn't suddenly lead a person to feel tempted to use it. I'm not so unstable that one crying kid will make me go on a stabbing spree. It's more ornamental than anything, and if we're being completely honest my hands probably count as deadly weapons. For the sake of this...conversation, we'll assume I'll be putting my item in your care. To satisfy your policies. But to be honest, I really don't see how you think making it harder for the good guys to protect themselves will make it harder for the bad guys to hurt others."

Yet again, some oddity of thought that was lost on Shio. Perhaps it was strictly a human thing. He unsheathed his zanpakuto carefully, folding it into a piece of cloth and placing it on the table at the doorway, then taking a seat immediately next to it. He could already see eyes darting towards him, gazes of remarkable concern and paranoia. Already, Shio could feel himself on edge...but perhaps the tea would help take that edge off. You never knew, after all.

Taking her time strolling through the busy streets that morning, Aiko had forgotten just how great the world of the living was. They had so many cool things; so many amenities! And while her duties kept her either at the Soul Palace, Seireitei, or somewhere else entirely, having the freedom to go where she pleased as part of her duties had its perks. On that day, she had chosen not to wear her typical Royal Guard attire. Why would she waste the chance to try on one of the many outfits she bought on her last shopping spree. She would’ve worn what she liked, and what she wanted that day. It helped that the vast majority of individuals at this day and age could see spirits well, so it eliminated the need to look for a gigai, though should it be required, she had her means and methods of acquiring one right away.

As she passed by countless stores in what looked like a busy downtown area, the girl spotted what appeared to be a Tea Store. Frankly, tea had never been one of Aiko’s favorite drinks. If she had her way, it would be sake, rum, and other hard liquors any day of the week. She did know that green tea was good for her however. But even with all her skills she had never been able to make one that didn’t taste like death. So perhaps giving a place that specializes in tea, could allow her to finally have good green tea, and change her mind about it.

Walking in, she hoped she wouldn’t draw too much attention. She was tall compared to the average girl, but not overly tall either. Her clothes were cute and fit well enough to raise a brow, but not too much as to question her decency. What really would’ve stood out was the extremely long locks of purple hair she had on display. Despite being able to control the length of her hair to make it longer or shorter if she wished, Aiko had no plans on changing her hairdo anytime soon.

”Good day! May I please have a large green tea and four piece box of assorted doughnuts. One chocolate, one cinnamon coated, one cream filled, and one sugar powdered. Thank you!”

With a smile she would rush off to find the nearest empty table. It wasn’t far off from the doorway, but more importantly it also lent itself to an amazing view out the window. And the doughnuts? Well, she knew green tea was good for her, but doughnuts were also good. No, they were great. With as much spiritual pressure as the girl possessed, she was constantly hungry, and thanks to her metabolism and her activity level, she could eat the most fattening foods nonstop without gaining a pound. It was truly a lovely thing. And then, out the corner of her she spied what certainly looked to be a Shinigami. It stood to reason that others would’ve understood by now that the world of the living was not just a place of work, but also a place of fun. His zanpakuto appeared to be under wraps, and she questioned how the locale allowed it in. At the same time, she was aware that a Shinigami should really not separate from their zanpakuto. Aiko? While she usually always had hers with her, in the instances where she didn’t, summoning it would be rather easy and simply a kido away; or perhaps a different method entirely.

”Pst, pssst, pssssssssst.”

Making odd noises with her lips, the girl tried to get the boys attention. As soon as he looked her way, she would dangle the sugar powdered doughnut in her hand to see if he wanted. That was awfully nice of her, though the powdered doughnut was certainly not her favorite one.