White Girl Stuff (Lerna/Murasaki)

Lerna was not really the type to go shopping all that often, but as it were her little journey across Japan was turning out to be a bit more enjoyable than she had thought it would be. Years of having spent most of her time wandering from place to place meant that there was never really a 'home' she could claim for herself, but as she walked through the shopping district and let her gaze meander through the crowds she couldn't help but feel something of an affinity for the place. That 'home'-like feeling was rare, and maybe that was a reason she tried not to spend too much time in asia. Those faint, distant echoes of a life so very far behind and not quite her own resonated in both pleasant and unnerving tones.

And for just a moment, her eyes drifted to a convenience store, and she saw a man gaily traipsing out and walking past her. The reek of Sake caught in her nose and she grimace, speeding up and focusing on what looked like a larger department-style store.

She felt like a damn tourist... but she couldn't help but feel a tinge of curiosity. Hell she practically WAS a tourist, the last time she'd lived around here was several thousand years ago. Thousand? She wrinkled her nose, closing her eyes and reaching up to tub her eyes. No, that was a past life, don't think about that shit. She relaxed, putting on a calm smile as she took a moment to start browsing. Eyes scanning as she found her way through the separate departments. All the while, she kept her guard slightly up. Even if there was almost no chance of being attacked here, she couldn't help but feel apprehensive. Almost as if she sensed danger nearby.

The far-off tingle of spiritual pressure made Lerna pause her shopping, stopping in the street and turning her head in the direction of that sensation. Hollows? Well that was annoying, and close by as well. The distant rumble of the sky peeling open caused her to tense. A glance to the sky made her tense up. A slight distortion, a telltale sign of gargantas. She sighed, taking one last look at the rack she'd been eyeing. Well she'd have to worry about shopping later.

She began to move out into the streets, briskly making her way toward the spiritual pressures she could sense. And she could already see the hollows themselves slithering out of yawning cracks in the air itself. The hollows were the usual assortment of seemingly random beasts. However, something caught her eye among their number. One which seemed to be hanging back, circling in the air overhead in a long grotesque length. Looking like some sort of bony caiman skeleton with glowing green eyes. From it's mouth a sickly green energy seemed to be spilling out, hanging in dense clouds which seemed to refuse gravity and hang in the air rather than drifting down or dispersing, creating a slow sort of winding line in the sky. Almost as if it were drawing something.

That said, it was the furthest from the actual people, and immediately a yell began to draw her attention. Already some of the nearby civillians had taken notice of the monstrous hollows and had begun running for shelter. Down the block she could see one of the hollows charging after a small group and she promptly broke into a run herself. A steady increase in speed before for just a fraction of a second, the air around her compressed and she sped straight toward the beast, catching it halfway towards it's prey and planting both palms into it's big armored shoulders! The Rhino-like hollow suddenly halted! a crunching noise sounding as it was suddenly stopped! OW!

The sheer bulk of the big thing was suddenly straining her wrists and she wound up TWISTING, yanking on those big bony spikes protruding from it's armored shoulders and then using it's own momentum to throw the beast straight across the street! The beast SLAMMING into a car with a loud CRUNCH, before she sped after it, dragging her fingers along the ground. Her roots ripping up the pavement and dragging in reishi from the air, hardening her skin before she barreled her open hand into the underside of it's chin, plowing clean through the unarmored flesh and stabbing up into the skull with that blade-like hand.

The beast's body thrashed but once before slumping against the ground, Lerna ripping her hand from it's corpse and beginning to peer about. Not too much damage... but the hollow was dead at least. She'd have to hurry if she was going to deal with the other small fry. She didn't want any little fuckers stabbing her in the back when she went to deal with....whatever that thing up there was doing. "I really need a proper weapon." She murmured irritably to herself, honing in on the next closest hollow reiatsu and sprinting off at a brisk pace.

It was..... actually impressive when she caught sight of the fighter off the corner of her eye. Several hollows suddenly erupting into crimson blossoms of blood and sliced flesh, and the woman who effortlessly glided through them. It was nothing compared to her own brutish antics. LEaping around and bursting with her own brand of thuggish speed in short bursts. Each hollow was barreled into, and ripped apart. Though not without consequence. Cracks, cuts, and small injuries slowly littered her body, even with that hard shell that encased her body, the hollows managed to make little chips and cracks along her form.

Enough so that when the shinigami spoke up she turned, surprise written across her face before a tail lanced out. A dull puncturing noise as the Hollow's needle-like appendage plowed clean through her middle, splattering a wet flay of red onto the ground behind her before she turned her attention to it and grabbed onto the Car she'd been pinned to. With a loud screech she ripped the door clean off the vehicle and then CHOPPED. The door being used like the head of an axe, she separated the Scorpion-like hollow's body into two pieces with a messy shear, dropping slightly as she was suddenly bulldozed by pain. Oh fuck, oh she hated that she had to feel this! She grunted.... and stood up, coughing as she ripped the hollow's limb out of her belly. "Eh? Pfft, I'm fine!" She called out to the woman, even with her incredibly pained face, though one that eased up as she slowly retreated her roots away from the damaged portion of her body until she could only feel the dullest sense of pain, straightening up and letting out a sigh. The bleeding already stopped as the blood vessels healed. But she was no arrancar, that hole was gonna take a while to regrow. Fuck.

She looked around, already the hollows had instantly seemed to react to the reiatsu of the Shinigami, many of the running, others beginning to circle around them, hesitant to attack, but drooling at the smell of shinigami flesh. Lerna seemed to be outright ignored, a fact that she promptly took advantage of when she SWUNG! Her body jolting forward as she swung that car door. The flesh of the hollow directly infront of her giving way to that twisted edge as it was promptly thrown across the street from the impact, both halves flung in slightly different directions. It was a lot less forceful than moments before. Oh right.... there was a hole in her abdominal muscles.... much less power.

BUT the move seemed to Jar the hollows back into the reality that the shinigami wasn't the ONLY one there. And promptly they began to retreat, at least those that weren't cut down by Murasaki's ungodly fast strikes. But all the same, their interest in the area seemed to become abundantly diminished thanks to the shinigami's reiatsu.

When the last hollow ran, or well....was dealt with. Lerna would place a hand over the hole in her body and wince. It was taking it's time but the wound WAS closing up as her Gigai's natural healing was cranked up by her control over it. It would still probably take a minute or so for the damn thing to close up. However.....she DID have a sudden problem. She'd drawn the attention of a shinigami. "Really Aughta get myself a weapon one of these days. You Soul reapers make that shit look so easy. A little surprised though. I feel like I see you guys less and less these days." She put on a smile. Hiding that slow, deep impulse to sneer deep down in her gut, as memories that weren't technically hers bubbled up. But her survival instincts were MUCH stronger. She held out her hand.

"Name's Lerna. Pleasure to meet you Suspiciously Attractive Shinigami." She decided to greet the woman, completely forgetting they were in Asia. God she liked the Western greetings so much more. She hated lowering her head. It made her feel like she was asking for it to be cut off. And THAT brought up bad memories.

Huh. That was not the accent she’s expected when the shinigami opened her mouth to speak up. It hardly even felt like she was speaking to a shinigami. Sure some definitely had traces of modernity about them, but there was still a sortof…… businesslike tone they had, especially when dealing with the dirty work of hollow killing.

Hm, maybe she just had a habit of attracting the ones with sticks up their asses.

A pause was given before she glanced down at the slowly-closing gap in her belly and the mess of blood that had gone down her front before she’d shut the blood vessels. Ah.

”Oh! Right sorry I’m fine it just takes a bit to close up its not as bad as it looks. I’m real sturdy, I’m a legend ya know! Toughest girl this side of town! La Chica Idiota! It means ‘the fearsome girl’ yaknow.” she grinned, offering a hand to shake when Murasaki introduced herself.

Huh so it wasn’t just her thinking that about shinigami. Maybe they were busy with other shit. ”Doesn’t bother me none. Just means I pick up the slack.” she hummed, lightly nodding to the remnants of the car door she had been using.

”Gotta say I’m impressed though. Been a while since I saw someone fight like you.”

Lerna snorted and chuckled just a little as the Shinigami shook her hand and seemed to get the joke, though apparently didn't seem to find it very funny. A shame, but not exactly something too uncommon. Human humor was still somethin she was working on. But even so, it was a pretty nuanced joke, and that the Shinigami knew enough spanish to actually pick up on the 'mistake' was something to be impressed at.

The Mod soul smirked ever so slightly, head canting slightly to the side in response to that dismissive response. "Is that right? I guess you must have to get that good. Does that mean you've been around long enough to enjoy a drink? Gotta save the gal who spared me another few holes in my gut somehow right?" She offered in flawless transition, that smile widening just a bit wider in earnest, and fairly tame intention. The woman DID probably save her from further injury by being so quick and thorough. She figured that deserved at least a note of gratitude.

A pause. "Shit, I'd probably need to change out of all this blood though... " The last thing she needed was to freak out the locals. Sure the wound would probably have closed up by the time they got to a bar, but the blood was still an issue. "You didn't happen to see a clothing store around here did ya?" She asked the woman. Even if Murasaki declined the drink she'd still need to change.