The Disposessed [Murasaki, Rose]

It was entirely effortless, the way that his fingers worked the chords with such dexterity that it could almost be considered an inhuman performance. Almost, though, for the player was not as much a master of jazz as he was the guitar and that discrepancy irked him. It was not like people were complaining, most everyone had no idea when he narrowly missed a timing or played a fraction of a beat too fast, but, to him, it was the difference between enjoyment and irritation. Something was messing with his vibe.

For the first time since his impromptu performance began, Rose turned his eyes to the crowd. That was when he saw her, sitting at the bar looking a little out of her comfort zone. She was making the effort to listen, so he lamented that his music was not the reason she had come here. For he could tell that he was her target, and so he could not go on now she was here. How was he to refuse the Captain Commander of the Gotei? Especially after she had gone to the trouble of coming all the way down here.

Bringing his music to a slow and winding conclusion, he bid some small thanks to the crowd for staying with him and slipped away from the small stage. It didn't take long for him to wander over to her, a glass of water in one hand and a neat whiskey on the rocks in the other.

"Earth's a big place. You might go your whole life without ever crossing paths with a drifter like me."

His expression was one of indifference, tempered with just the lightest dusting of intrigue. What did she want with him? That was on the tip of his tongue.

"But you're welcome anytime, Ms. Murasaki."

As Murasaki stiffened a little, switching into her Captain-Commander shoes perhaps, Rose did much the same. The easygoing Jazz player replaced by the easygoing former Captain. He sipped at the water, letting it soothe his vocal chords, as he listened to her proposal. She was asking for him to come back, he should have expected as much. Perhaps Rukia had kept him out of her report, perhaps she hadn’t, but it mattered little now.

“I heard about that terrible thing. A lot of innocent lives caught up in the chaos and the Vandenreich couldn’t even stop the guy. If the stories are to be believed.”

He sighed softly, his face taking a certain weariness as he knocked back a good half of the whiskey in one quick gulp.

“But who could stop him when he really got going? The kid was insatiable.”

His gaze fell, looking down at his shoes for a moment before returning back to Murasaki with an all too apparent weight.

“Centuries of watching the bodies of my colleagues and friends pile up whilst we all pressed on because duty demanded it of us. But, why me? I’m a relic, a has been. I just play my little songs and keep to myself.”

He was selling himself short, of course, nor did he limit himself to purely musical activities. But was he doing it intentionally or was there another reason why Rose didn’t want to return that lay beneath the surface?

“A different outlook? Is that what I bring to the table these days? I don’t know what you’ve heard about me but that was not a reason I expected.”

It was humbling, to be thought of only as a means to an end. Whatever Murasaki really wanted him for, she likely wouldn’t say until it was upon them. That didn’t stop him from prying though, he hadn’t been headhunted in a while.

“And you’re prepared to make a new division just for me? I’m flattered, naturally, but I don’t know what special skills I would bring to the table.”

He eyed up the second half of his whiskey warily, considering exactly what he was going to do. He was slowly wasting away down here, living in the moment and dealing with one problem at a time. But he was living. Now he was being asked to go back to that soulless place and try make something respectable of it. That was no small task, and he would be going it alone by the sounds of it.

Stroking his ego a little was certainly one way to win Rose over, but he was not so baseless as to fold at the first sign of such. He knew that it was likely a decision she had made, to try to pander to him a little just to make all of this seem more favourable. She was right to do so, of course, but there were still plenty more reservations to be had.

“I don’t quite know what that means, to be half of a Zanpakuto, but I can imagine the sticklers having a problem with it. They had a problem with anyone different until they realised they could use them for their own ends. But I don’t hate them, I don’t think most people hated me. I just didn’t want to grow stagnant.”

Again he turned his drink in his hand. He had left the Gotei to make something else of himself, and for a while he had. He had walked across the stars themselves and seen the sun set behind the moons of Neptune. But now he was back on the ground, and humility was not a shade he quite liked for himself.

“If you want someone to talk to then I’ll have to be there to reply. Leaving you with Urahara and Rukia doesn’t sound like the best of company anyway, little bit cut-and-dry for my taste. But this isn’t a forever gig for me, I’m not looking to settle down and put myself in a box again. So if you want me then I’ll stick around until the music stops, but nobody’s song lasts forever.”

Rose could not help but smile as Murasaki's eyes lit up. It was infectious, after all, to bring joy to others even if only for a moment. That was one of the reasons he had started doing all this, to spread just a little bit of happiness. Maybe this was the right choice. Hell, now he was even convincing himself.

He knocked back the last of the whiskey, slamming the glass down with just enough vigour to show his intent without making too much of a scene. His mind was about made up, he would sleep on it to be sure but there was only really one thing left to do.

"Then alright, I'll dance to the beat of your song, Ms Murasaki. But you might have to loosen your collar once in a while and come on down to Earth for another one of my performances. Maybe we'll even get you up on the stage one day."

His laugh was innocent, as innocent as his words, but the grip on her hand had a little more to it as he reached across to give her his affirmation.