A Cala-mitous Meeting [CalaXIgen]

Seoul.... a city all but gleaming with the sterile, beaming brilliance of a stark, flawless coat of silver paint. The streets and skies absolutely abuzz with wonders of technology and innovation that made Cala both stare star wide-eyed amazement and also feel....archaic. Out of place as both a relic of the past given form and the unshakeable feeling of being akin to a stick of charcoal in the crayon box.

Thankfully despite being so close to Japan their Sealed Form allowed them to pass as a young Shinigami easily enough, at least enough to move around the city. One benefit, at the very least, to Seoul having untold numbers of people working more or less locally in the sprawling city is that all their needs from entertainment, cuisine and more were also met with that same stark, technological efficiency.

So it came to be that Cala slowly walked one of the rather crowded entertainment districts of Seoul, the lights of games from arcades and internet cafes lighting up the evening sky just a bit as the sun dimmed over the horizon. Curiously Cala observed a bustling cafe dedicated to something called 'Starcraft V' that the people of Seoul seemed to enjoy quite a lot. With a soft shrug Cala would then move into one of the many, many streets dedicated to feeding Seoul's populace and would sigh dreamily at the faint scent of all the wonderful smells around them.

Cala would, luckily enough, be offered a free sample of some delicious smelling food they were unfamiliar with and, bowing their thanks, would enter a smaller and only somewhat more quiet arcade to sit in a small, secluded booth. The arcade in question possessing darker, more neon themed lighting and Cala tilted their head quizzically at an odd, large, AR type of game with a rather intricate looking system built in. Like a vague descendant of the old two player survival shooting games it was, instead, a pseudo-VR dias for two potential players wielding swords to participate in and from what Cala could make out from the couple currently playing it, was rather difficult for your average person.

WHEW! How long had it been since he'd been to the world of the living!? He couldn't help but stare at his surroundings as he took everything in. There was a sort of ...stable unchanging aspect to how things worked in the soul society that seeing how much things shifted in the world of the living really threw him for a loop! He'd been here....pshhhh what.... a few years ago? And already so much had changed! Stores moved around, the places grew or shrank, he couldn't help the big smile on his face as he strode through the place.

He couldn't help but feel a bit ....off. Ever since his zanpaku'to had spoken to him things had been a bit....awkward. Getting so hyped up in the middle of a fight and then IGNORING it when it had spoken to him? Uhhhh yea, maybe he had gone a little too far. Even now as he walked through the streets, he turned his attention to his hip. Of course he was in his Gigai, but that weapon was still on him. He wondered if his Zanpaku'to liked being here? HE certainly enjoyed it. "Eh, Zanny-chan, you're really gonna pout this whole trip?" He asked softly, seemingly murmuring to himself as he looked up at the sky and noted the silence, sighing just a little. Yea, he was probably in the doghouse for a while. Still, that had been such a weird time for it to wake up. How should he get it to talk again? He'd had such a rough time that he'd decided to take a day off. Head down to the world of the living, maybe things would make more sense with some R and R. Sure, he ....could probably talk to his Captain. She was an expert on the subject. But well, he didn't wanna just go running straight to her, especially if he could like, settle this on his own, right?

That what was spinning around in his head as he strolled down the streets, barely even paying attention to where he was going as his mind wandered about other things.

Cala had hardly finished their food and responsibly thrown their trash away before returning to their seat near the odd AR game. The two currently playing it were finishing up, and evidently a couple, as they laughed and hugged a lot together. A small crowd had formed to watch them play but upon the two not getting very far they received only polite applause from the crowd. As the couple leave the game some of the people around begin to approach it before noticing Cala and, while Cala didn't consciously know Korean, they found themselves somehow able to understand them apologizing and asking if Cala had been waiting to play.

Cala, blinking rapidly, sheepishly declined but one of the onlookers noted Cala's sword and asserted they must have at least some skill at a game like this. Cala was.... uncomfortable with the attention but when that same onlooker offered to use their tokens to let Cala play they sheepishly mumbled a thanks and shuffled up onto the platform. A token was inserted for Cala and as Cala awkwardly fiddle with the headset and synthetic sword the group of onlookers and gamers began to ask around if anyone wanted to play with Cala. No one seemed keen on the idea of joining Cala, all of them already having their own partners picked out to play with, and as Cala almost drew in a breathe to excuse themselves one of the onlookers spied yet another individual passing the arcade with a sword on their hip and called out to Igen.

"Hey! Do you want to join your friend here for a game?"

The speaking man would turn to Cala and shrug.

"You're both wearing swords so you guys must be uhh... cosplaying partners or something right?"

Cala stared at the man like a deer in the headlights, nodded without a second thought, before peaking past them to look at Igen sheepishly. Assuming the unknown individual approached Cala would offer a polite bow, both out of sincere regret toward them but also to hide the soft narrowing of their pupils as Cala could feel Igen's Spiritual Energy. A single word echoing softly behind Cala's mask as they kept their head bowed and murmured quietly. Cala's lips forming one word while their instinctual hunger formed another.

"S-Sorry!"

'PREY.'

"Eh?" Igen snapped out of his trance and looked at the group that seemed to be asking him a question. He'd been so caught up in his own little world that he didn't even realize he was being talked to! He paused, looking from one to the other, and then glancing at the .....uhuh....feminine lookin fellow that was all hooked up to the game. That he was being invited to play?

Of course under normal circumstances he would have joined right in. But well...he wasn't really on his usual groove. And so he offered a smile. [color=salmon["Oh, thanks! But no thanks, I'm not really that great at those kinds of games, I'll be happy to cheer ya on though, buddy!"[/color] He pointed out to Cala, offering a calm smile.

Hm. He didn't have a pesquisa, he couldn't just sus a race out. Though to be honest, it wasn't like this person was causing any trouble to begin with anyway. Why NOT enjoy a little show and see how this guy sized up! Despite his lacking participation, Igen still smiled and stepped a bit to the side, eager to see what sort of contest this little game would involve! No less how this stranger performed, they seemed a little on the shaky side to be sure, but he had high hopes that they could pull out a surprise!

Truly things could not have been worse for Cala. Now not only did they not have a partner for the game, and that deeper primal part of themselves lamented the potential prey distancing themselves, but even worse they had now gained someone else watching them! The urge to awkwardly excuse themselves from the game bubbled up in Cala's chest like a hot-spring and was only prevented from overflowing by the spectators nodding at Igen's decision and the one who had payed for Cala to try and gotten Igen's attention shrugging. Turning to Cala with a nod and stating.

"Guess you're on your own. Good luck!"

Cala almost wanted to pout, only vaguely able to still see the outside world through the super-imposed coloration of the menu and the blade as it existed in the game world. A pristine, garishly fancy katana that glittered with a particle effect the color of gold up and down the blade, and each menu option hovered in front of Cala as a chibi demon holding a sign, with instructions on the side to slash their preferred option. Cala grimaced, lavender eyes flicking back and forth before they gently swept the blade through the 'Options' demon and fiddled with the sensitivity options. Only once they were comfortable did Cala return to the main menu and slash the "Start" option.

Unable to help themselves from peaking at Igen's silhouette through the super-impose graphics Cala chewed on the inside of their mouth nervously. Unsure of what they should do. If they tried and performed TOO well it would definitely raise suspicion, but at the same time if they performed too poorly the people who had paid for them to play might be upset they wasted the token. Never mind the fact that Cala wanted Igen not to leave, if only for the very selfish and not-at-all moral reason of devouring him.

Cala bodily leapt off the floor a foot or so in fright as the first little demon enemy, a bright cackling little imp, danced on the holographic floor in front of Cala. Having swiped their comically designed fork-shaped-spear very close to Cala and the other spectating individuals chuckled as a group, evidently even the first level frightening Cala. Almost before Cala could think, and with just a tad more speed than they intended, they swept the little demon's head off it's shoulders, though the regular people observing didn't seem to think anything more of it than a fear-fueled reaction and it was hardly so fast as to be called inhuman.

As the second stage began another little imp popped into existence in front of Cala while a floating, fat, purple cartoonish demon spawned further away. The little imp died to a simple flick while the purple demon spat acid at Cala who, not entirely sure what to do, swatted it out of the air and ended up launching it back at the chubby cartoon demon. Causing it to melt into a purple sludge before the next round started.

Cala had to admit, the game was fun in it's own way, and only when the stage was over did they find themselves remembering they weren't just here to play the game. Deciding to go for just a bit longer Cala made it to Stage 6, the first stage after the first boss, before losing on purpose and earning some polite applause from the other onlookers. Having made a bit of a show of fighting the simplest boss in the game and only barely surviving, making heir actual death on the next stage more believable.

Timidly removing the helmet and releasing the game sword Cala would nod appreciatively of the applause and pause before turning to Igen and walking to them, getting off the AR platform before awkwardly rubbing the back of their head and staring over Igen's shoulder shyly.

"Ummm... Sorry a-about them just calling you over. I don't really know them that well and uhh....."

Cala's eyes lowered to Igen's Zanpaku'to before looking up at Igen and, earnestly, not having to fake a small blush as now that they had calmed down a little the stranger WAS pretty. So it was that Cala found their voice stuttering a bit more naturally and even cracking a little as they shrugged their shoulders.

".... your sword is very nice. Did you win it somewhere?"

Cala, of course, knew exactly what the sword REALLY was but was doing their best to keep up appearances, their Sealed Form making them seem little more than a high-spec human at the moment and one even weaker than Igen at that.

Igen chuckled just a little as he watched Cala proceed to play the game, albeit with a LARGE ammount of nerves. "Cmon you can do it!" Igen promptly cheered, and soon more of the crowd was cheering Cala on as they went through the game! Sure, they had a rocky start, but as Cala got the hang of things, the crowd was urging him on! Hoots and hollers of encouragement rippled out from the crowd, and Igen was among the louder ones yelling encouragement! He was happy to see those nerves slowly settle, and soon Cala was making his way through the levels!

And at long last, when Calal finally died, a great AWWWWW coursed through the crowd, and as they peeled the helmet off, Igen was right there, smiling and patting them on the back, grinning from ear to ear. "Wow that was really nice! I don't know much about those games but you got way further than I expected!" He chimed, pausing for a moment when Cala promptly began to speak up. Not only that, but well, he seemed to pause....staring for a moment before he reached out and promptly put his arm around Cala's waist, pulling them to the side before he put on a sly smirk.

"Ya know, you HAVE been staring at me all game. Not only that, but you were turning much sooner than your actual reactions. You were holding back." Igen pointed out with a widening smile. "You don't gotta hide your power ya know? Not like strong humans are that rare these days. And if you're worried about my Zanpaku'to, you don't gotta. I'm off duty. We just gotta carry these in the event of a hollow attack. " He prompted smoothly. Oh yes, he absolutely saw through quite a few things that had been going on with Cala. But he also seemed to not really care in the slightest! Sure, he could tell that Cala was a spiritual being, but that wasn't really like, an issue. Even arrancar these days were not really that scary. Truth be told, it was usually supernatural humans causing a ruckus, or demons. Or you know....full on hollows. WHATEVER Cala was, Igen didn't really see them being any kind of issue, so he was cool as a cucumber.

At Igen's praise Cala's attention on them only deepened, both in timid friendliness and deeply disguised, primal hunger. For a brief moment Cala was lost in a small, mile-long state as their two conflicting reactions warred in their head. The two voices swirling round and round, to stay hidden, to FEED, to be cautious, and back again. Only for both voices to be silenced by Igen himself.

As Igen's arm slipped around Cala waist and pulled them to his side Cala's eyes widened and both their selves simply flatlined. Something akin to a dial tone or elevator music would have been a more coherent train of thought than what was currently going through Cala's head as Igen smirked at them.

Cala didn't even have time to try and formulate a coherent thought before Igen made the statement about Cala staring at him and, for wholly different reasons, both sides of Cala reacted very strongly. Cala's hidden, true self tended in worry that they had been discovered, and their base instincts lurched in a cold revulsion of Igen's presence. Meanwhile their current mindset flushed warmly, a gentle blush hearing their cheeks a rosy pink and causing these two conflicting tidal waves of emotion to meet and collide in the pit of Cala's stomach. Coiling like two fighting serpents into an icy hot mass before erupting into tingling butterflies out to Cala's extremities. It was not quite the same as Reina had once made them feel, it was similar, but altogether so different Cala found themselves dumbfounded.

Fidgeting at being pulled so close to Igen Cala turned their head away, more than a little conscious of the other's touch and closeness for several reasons, and when Igen gave a wide smile Cala could only mumble something unintelligible under their breathe and be thankful their hair fell down to cover their face somewhat.

Pursing their lips and somewhat gathering themselves Cala was roused from their timid, altogether embarrassed situation by Igen mentioning their Zanpaku'to again. This gave Cala a small window to change the conversation or, at least, say something to draw their mind away from the fact that Igen' grip on Cala's waist held them much closer than Cala was used to. Venturing a small glance up at Igen the tall boy would find two wide, lavender eyes highlighting a delicately blushing face as Cala murmured in a tone do neutral as to be indecipherable.

"Y-You're a... a Shinigami? Are you new o-or umm..... I mean..... I can feel you some."

Huh... that was a weird expression for him to make. Igen tilted his head slightly. He uh....didn't have nearly as much going on in his head. Blinking owlishly as Cala struggled with....uh...whatever was ...going on with that face. His head canted to the side and he eventually kinda folded his arms as he waited for the fellow to figure out what it was they wanted. And they ...SEEMED to.

"Oh, you mean like my Reiryoku right? Yep! That's me! Though It's been a year now I wouldn't call myself new. Why do ya ask?" He inquired brightly, smiling as he watched them intently. It was certainly a strange thing to say and respond with. And admittedly uh....Igen wondered if they needed like some water to calm down or something. "Do you wanna get some food or something? Maybe it'll help ya talk. I know I always think and talk my best with a meal in my stomach." He pointed out with a proud grin. He didn't know if it would ACTUALLY help, but it was pretty much the only thing that could come to mind.

Cala couldn't help but feel that Igen was joking when he said he wasn't new due to a single year of being a Shinigami..... and when that bright smile only confirmed that, in fact, Igen wasn't, Cala blinked rapidly. Their words fading in their throat as they tried to think of a polite way to point out that one year was not a lot of time to be a Shinigami but their thoughts were interrupted as Igen brought up food. Ironic, considering that a part of Cala considered Igen to be food himself, and he wasn't exactly hungry for mortal food since he had just had some but, well, maybe eating mortal food would help them shake their more primal urge to feed on Igen.

Nodding at the prospect of perhaps dismissing those thoughts that bubbled beneath the surface Cala gave a distracted nod and bowed their head toward Igen just a smidge.

"Mmmm, that would be nice. Thank you."

Scooting just a little bit more away from Igen to put some distance between them and, venturing a small smile, would raise their head before clearing their throat in something as close to a polite way as possibly as they muttered.

"I ahh... I don't exactly have any money though.... we could go wherever you want if that would make it better, but I don't need to get anything."

A small part of Cala was nervous and, honestly, a bit happy at having met a potential new friend. Though it did only make the internal conflict worse for them they nevertheless ventured to reach out and take Igen's hand and take a couple steps toward the exit to the arcade. Slender pianist's fingers gently gripping Igen's hand as Cala turned to face them more fully while they tried to distract themselves further.

"Maybe we could also do some exploring? If you wanted to I-I mean.... you're probably very busy as a Shinigami...."

Igen chuckled softly. "Oh I see. You a spiritual then? I guess it can be kinda rough getting used to how things are done in the world of the living. You like a Danava or something? Iramasha? Arrancar? Demon? Just so I know what I'm working with." He chimed all while he led the way toward a nearby shop. It wasn't anything super fancy, just a little cafe. This uh, wasn't exactly his usual hangout, and all the places he USED to frequent well, weren't around. Or he just maybe didn't recognize them in their new form. All the same, he'd help Cala order what they wanted, not really worrying about spending a lot as Igen mulled over that question.

"Exploring huh? Hmmm. That could be kinda fun. I've BEEN around here before. Just you know.... not for a while now. It feels like its been a decade but ...psh...thinking it over it was probably like a couple years or something..." He murmured, it was definitely while he'd still been in the academy. Accepting his bowl of stir fry over rice from the cafe staff and waiting for Cala to get their own food before they found a table. Still blissfully unaware that Cala was thinking about sinking their teeth into him and not in the way people usually wanted to.