Haha, Surprise! Gosh, Even I'm Surprised [Private/Yuel, Shuten]

Despite Shuten's importance as a captain, and insistence that she should have some form of retinue accompany her to the outlands of the Rukongai and Soul Society, she refused. She had pounded these streets as a young Suika, nearly five hundred years ago; but such small change would do little to deny the Suika of her desire to walk in the streets that she had once briefly dominated in her youth while all she could do sometimes was to survive. That was the goal for every day; survival, survival, and more survival with sake mixed in at her leisure. However, she never forgot her roots, never forgot where she came from; such reasons were why she was here.

She came to visit family, perhaps even see her elder sister, Ibiki, enjoying her retirement as much as could be possible. But mostly, she was to visit family, and perhaps even share other nuggets of news with them; or perhaps not. Regardless, she was certainly ready to share her sake with her family once again; and was gladly willing to help overflow the already overflowing stores of sake the Suika clan held. The thoughts it pulled her to made the woman quite happy in quiet reflection as she quietly padded down the street, her slightly padded feet making no noise on the dirt, rocks, and other obstacles below them. A gourd rest upon her hip, with ample sake threatening to make the ornate cork burst if not for how tightly Shuten had bore it down. Her Zanpakuto, bound to its Shikai as usual, hung from a small well concealed mounting apparatus on her back, and lastly, she drank sake from a rather large dish as she walked; humming to herself as thoughts of nostalgia for the distant past.

But, soon, she felt an odd disturbance broke Shuten from her reveries. An odd presence filled her senses. One who felt familiar, yet not. A woman who screamed of the Suika blood boiling through her veins with just her energy alone. And then, right before Shuten, and the other onlookers, both Suika and not, appeared a woman from what may as well have been thin air. Immediately, she was on all fours, the contents of her stomach clearly trying to escape thanks to whatever method she used to convey herself here. As Shuten stared at the woman, her sake dish forgotten, she felt as if she had seen this woman before; a very odd nostalgia filled her entire being. It was that same sense of knowing, but not knowing despite how certain her heart told her; and despite how certain disagreed with her heart. Was this woman of her family, long forgotten due to Shuten not knowing her as a babe, or was she something else? Whatever the case, Shuten padded gently up to the woman. In an instant, she downed the sake in the dish, no longer leisurely consumed, and stored the dish away in a bag that seemed hidden by her gourd's girth. Afterwards, she calmly knelt in front of the known, yet unknown, stranger and gave her a gentle smile; her voice carefully caressing the ears of the woman before her.

"Hello and Welcome to the Seireitei, Suika stranger who yet seems oddly familiar to me; might I ask who you are and what brings you here?"

If Yuel was able to tame her stomach and raise her head, she would find Shuten looking upon her. Yuel had likely seen Shuten as a babe, perhaps even as a toddler, but it was hard to deny that Shuten had grown since Yuel had passed. Not to mention, it was obvious Shuten had survived the Suika hardships of youth and grown to become strong; and not only that, but a Captain of the Gotei as well. The smile Shuten gave was indeed gentle, but cautious. She was ready to react if things went south; but also ready to react properly if things went well. Either way, Shuten still gazed at Yuel as such an amazing sense of nostalgia, deja vu, and many other sensations tied up into knots inside of her being. Who was this woman, and why was she so familiar to Shuten?

This woman, who was so familiar and yet felt so much like a stranger to her. Shuten watched her carefully, tracking every movement with a practiced eye; not letting the slightest flex escape her piercing purple vision. However, the strange feeling of safety still came to Shuten as she watched this woman recover from her upset stomach; and luckily manage to contain what might remain in the depths of said organ. She had sat up, causing a small smile to take over Shuten's features. She wasn't horribly concerned, puking was the least of one's worries at times, and, honestly, there were other things to worry about sometimes. So, Shuten remained quiet as the woman said hello. However, Shuten soon jumped in surprise when the blonde woman suddenly leapt to her feet like she hadn't just felt the need to throw cookies earlier.

Shuten rose to her feet slowly, gently brushing off her knees and Haori as she watched the woman orbit around her. The look she was giving Shuten was one of heavy contemplation, attempting to glean just a tiny bit of familiarity from her appearance; aside from the obvious that all Suika have. However, the woman mentioned a name, a name Shuten knew quite well; for it was her own. She snapped her head to the woman in attention when she said her name. She had not given it, not earlier, and the only way to know it meant... it meant they knew each other. Hopefully.

Soon, the woman suddenly jumped to the conclusion that she had nothing, and then simply bowed; folding herself into a 90 degree angle, almost a perfect one, before straightening with such a big grin. Not to mention, a bigger breath that she used to spurt out the paragraph-like statement she bore upon Shuten's ears.

Her name is Yuel Duullheim, not Suika no longer apparently, and she came from Japan. The name, Yuel, however, struck a certain cord in Shuten, as she thought about it, time essentially slowing down for her own brain as she had the briefest of flashbacks. An elder sister, on what may as well have been her death bed; possible farewells... Shuten shook this memory from her mind as she snapped her eyes back to Yuel's own. Technically a Suika, named Yuel, and was Ibiki's sister to boot, meaning she was Shuten's sister as well. However, did that mean she was that Yuel? Shuten was so confused, especially given all the information that was suddenly thrust upon her. However, she clung to the fact that Yuel knew her name, was a Suika, and that she was Ibiki's sister. That... That was something.

After Yuel was done speaking, Shuten managed a small smile and walked a tiny bit closer to her. She inspected the woman closely. Sadly, however, Shuten's memory of the Yuel she knew had been corrupted by youth and by time. But, still... the familiarity remained; and it was hard to deny. Eventually, the Suika broke the silence, a small smile dancing upon her lips.

"Well, I wouldn't say you have nothing. If you are indeed Ibiki's sister, that would mean you are mine as well, and you know my name; Shuten. That's better than something, I suppose however... your name it... troubles me."

Shuten indeed did look troubled. Her eyebrows were knit together, her lips in a slight pout as she considered the implications of this situation. If this was the same Yuel wasn't she supposed to have passed..?

"The Yuel Suika I knew... well, let's just say that all I remember of her was the times I visited her when she was sick and..."

Shuten stopped dead, refusing to say more. It was a hard subject, very hard to talk about. Even if she had not known her sister well, not well enough to mourn truly properly, Shuten still found it hard to speak of what little she remembered of her second older sister. She had always wished to know her older sister Yuel, and was fortunate to have Ibiki. However, if this woman was indeed the same woman... well, there was a chance. Shuten looked Yuel dead in the eyes, she stepped even closer, possibly uncomfortably close. Still remained that unshakable sense of familiarity that Shuten felt ever since she looked upon Yuel.

"Come with me, Yuel. Let's talk. I was going to see the family anyways. And... well, if you are who I think you are, maybe a walk around town will do you some good. Who knows, maybe you'll find something that helps."