Dining In The Rain [Rita/Ikari]

Pubs were lovely to go to on a Friday night, huh? They had a far more comfortable vibe than the type of shit you'd see at bars or clubs. And the more niche and small it is, the roomier and more relaxed the atmosphere will be. That's the line of thinking Rita had, anyway.

In a more affluent part of Karakura Central, Rita found herself in a small but up-scale pub that served all sorts of Japanese and American food. There was almost any drink you could imagine, and it had some soft lofi music playing in the background to soothe all the souls who would walk in. A few men and women alike had conversations, ate and drank, and enjoyed the calmness of a misty, rainy night.

As a smile came over the face of Rita, she flicked through her phone and overread the meeting she was having with this "Ikari" person that was referred to her through a mutual contact of Shou's. Some chick named Aiko had found some fox Danava without identification and needed some establishment to back her. And given the manpower, resources, and money Rita had? That wasn't a challenging feat.

So, when Rita was in town on her off time, she figured she'd pick it up, do some more charitable work and possibly see what the chick's story was about. They had an agreed time, and all Rita was doing was waiting. So, she grabbed a Dunkel, sipped the sweet german beer, and stayed in content silence.

Truthfully speaking, Ikari had no idea what to expect. After being redirected through Shou, who Ikari had met briefly on one occasion, the Kitsune was able to set up a meeting with a woman by the name of "Rita Grace". From the conversations they had, Rita seemed kind enough. However, it was best for Ikari to save her opinions until after she had met Rita. After going through a rather... Well, suffice to say, difficult entry due to her lack of credentials, since the Danava decided it would be best not to slip into the heavily guarded city disguised as a fox, Ikari made her way towards the pub they had agreed upon meeting at. Frankly speaking, Karakura was... Overwhelming and yet not all at the same time. Luckily for Ikari, she had invested her only funds, which were few and far in between, into a phone bill; so using said method of navigation made things a lot easier. Armed with a street address along with the general appearance of Rita, Ikari had arrived at the pub in excellent times for someone who had never been to Karakura before.

Ikari had never been inside of a pub, she mostly avoided the places truth be told; and if she wanted alcohol, she could distill sake from her energy. However, this was a case where such a thing was necessary. Without further ado, and there was no need to wait, Ikari entered the pub; her hood pulled over her head to try and minimize looks in her direction. The woman had even briefly hid her tails within her hoodie as well, flattening the five puffy tails against her back in an attempt to not draw attention immediately. Eventually, after waffling about, Ikari had located the woman she was supposed to meet; Rita.

Ikari slipped over to Rita and had reached the woman quite swiftly, all in combination with her own capabilities and a pure desire to get to her quick. Really, crowded places could make anyone nervous; and for someone who was basically meeting someone to get their future affairs in a better state... Well, suffice to say, Ikari was extremely nervous. After reaching Rita, Ikari pulled her hood of her white hoodie down, revealing her pink hair, and the pink fox ears that were nearly hidden within her pink locks; but the white tufts within the ears made them quite obvious. Along with that, Ikari finally released her tails from the confines of said white hoodie, the Danava giving Rita a sheepish smile, offering her a small respectful bow. Afterwards, Ikari sat across from Rita, pulled a small dish out of her hoodie, seemed to summon sake within the dish, drank all the sake in one gulp, and seemed to relax a small measure. Afterwards, Ikari placed the dish down and gave Rita a genuine smile.

"Rita, correct? It's nice to actually meet you, I'm Ikari."

"Hell yeah, I am. Pleasure to meet ya, Ikari."

And without wasting a beat, Rita shook the hand of Ikari and chugged down another small drink of her own. However, unlike the Danava, Rita wasn't drinking to hide her nervousness or anything silly like that. No. She liked the taste, feeling, and relaxation it could bring after a hard day of working and busting your ass.

So, since she wasn't tipsy or piss-drunk, her cognitive functions were still sharp, and she could observe the tenseness of the fox's body, which is why she then raised an eyebrow out of intrigue at why she seemed so on edge.

"Don't worry, I don't eat fox meat. No need to be so tense."

She then snorted and continued.

"So I hear you are lookin' to find a place to live in this city. Tell me: what exactly are you looking for from me? If you could wave a wand and have your vision of the next year of your life, what would you have it be?"

Ikari smiled at Rita warmly, even if her nervous nature was still quite in place; her spine quite stiff as the exchange continued. After a certain period of time, in which Ikari felt herself being studied quite acutely, a comment caused Ikari's purple eyes to point towards Rita; her pupils briefly dilating before shrinking into slits. However, it was brief as the comment was fully understood and Ikari giggled gently, taking a few deep breaths to try and relax her body; which did work for the most part. And while Ikari had taken a drink of her own personal sake to try and calm her nerves... now she was taking gentle sips to enjoy the liquid, not swill it.

"That's good~! Otherwise, we'd have quite the problem on our hands, huh~? Besides, I'm too adorable to eat!"

Ikari grinned confidently. On being adorable as fuck, that Ikari was sure of. However, Ikari soon tilted her head at what Rita had said to her and asked of her; her grin fading as she considered the implications of what she had said. Those fox ears upon her head briefly perked up as Rita spoke of her future self in the next year of her life; revealing them fully for what they were. However, the ears soon laid down amid her hair, hidden once more as Ikari tapped her lip gently and took a careful drink of sake.

What would she have it be? She really didn't know what she wanted her life to look like exactly. A nicely sized house, big enough for two people for whenever Yuukinan wandered back, a job so she could sustain herself but still have fun when she wanted to... Really just the normal kinda stuff that some people had that she didn't because she was, well... without them.

"W-Well... It'd be nice to have a house big enough for at least two people, and for a fox to easily get around in; and a big fox... Uhm... I would like to get a job too. I need to be able to sustain myself, otherwise I'll just be leeching off others; and I'd prefer not to do that. A friend of mine helped me realize how dangerous that could be in the long run; how unfruitful it was. Aside from that, I don't really know what my life would be like. I don't have a grand vision or anything. I just kinda want the normal stuff that a lot of people have in life. A roof to sleep under, a bed, a job... ya know, that kinda stuff."

"Aye. You are pretty cute, so I'd be careful if I was you. Ya never know what psycho male or female might wanna gobble ya up."

Snorting, Rita both joking and was serious. This woman was soft, mildly naive, and defenseless for the most part, so it made her prey for the types that would want to abuse that naivety and weakness.

"Also, ya look hungry. If ya want, I can order you some food so your time isn't wasted here."

Nodding, Rita offered her a menu before pulling her own and determining what type of American or Japanese food she wanted. Before that, however, she listened to Ikari's answer regarding her previous question about visualizing her ideal life. Then, with her teal eyes pulled away from the menu, her gaze lingered on the Danava before she nodded and understood what the woman wanted: normalcy.

"You want stability, a job to do, and to feel like you have a function in society. That's why you want your documentation, to find a place to live and to eventually find some employment. There is nothing wrong with that. Everybody needs that basics down before some grander purpose is thrown on their lap."

Nodding, Rita took another swig of her drink before letting a soft, content sigh out and smiling.

"Well, before you stuff your face, tell me: what skills do you have for employment? Tell me a bit about yourself."

"Luckily, most people don't think a fox is all that threatening... Unless it's a restaurant and the chef is an ass.... And thank you so much, Rita"

Ikari indeed was hungry. Frankly speaking, she was so nervous that hunting for her next meal wasn't even an honest prospect at the time. Such reasons were why Ikari had forgone food until the time of their meeting. Of course, that was quite the great mistake. However, Rita's offer to order her food was taken up with gratitude; with Ikari ordering a Japanese dish, Oyakou Danburi. Afterwards, Ikari listened to Rita closely. Frankly speaking, the questions she asked weren't exactly hard to answer, but it was more in the manner she should answer the questions. Like, she couldn't just whip her Atma Vatou out here and now, that would scare the shit out of people.

Ikari paused, her Oyakodon before her briefly forgotten as she pondered the question before her. Eventually, Ikari set her chopsticks down and tended to answering what was at hand instead of whittling away the hours anymore.

"Well, I won't lie, while I'm no stranger to combat, I'm no expert... A friend of mine did her best to train me so I could survive on my own; especially for the cases where I couldn't outrun whatever might be a threat. I also can conjure something I call kitsunebi, fox fire, and a blade all my own. I lived most of my life in the wilderness, but once upon a time I did masquerade as a shrine maiden... I can heal anything that isn't fatal, assuming I have the energy for it, and I'm very fast to boot. And I can shapeshift between a humanoid form and my fox form; both of which are still me, of course, and is no illusion. After all, I am very much like a human when I take this form~"

Ikari stopped for a little bit, the alluring scent of her food was too much to ignore, and she dug in briefly to allow herself some time to collect her thoughts; and also because the chicken, eggs, rice, all of it smelled far too good to just ignore! A swift drink of her sake to compliment her mouthful of food before Ikari was once more ready to talk.

"Aside from that, I don't think I have any traditional workmanship skills or whatever you would call them. I've never had an actual job, but I can learn... And I'm certainly able to adapt on the fly when I need. After all, I've lived most of my life doing what I can to survive without getting killed, tricked, or otherwise put in a situation that would end quite poorly for me."

As they both started to enjoy their food and drinks, Rita still paid keen attention to Ikari. From Rita's point of view, you learn more when you just shut up and let the other person speak, and Ikari sang like a bird. She told Rita about her healing, combative abilities, and illusionary prowess; these were interesting traits to pick up on. And sure, the workmanship skills left a lot to be desired, but it's not like you couldn't be taught those things.

So, after taking another swig of her beer, Rita narrowed her gaze back in on Ikari and nodded.

"Yeah, those are nifty skills and abilities to have. So tell me: what exactly is your healing like? I'd like to know more as that's pretty valuable."

After taking a pause, she then continued.

"And yeah, the workmanship we can just intern you on. Ya ain't the first stray I've dealt with, won't be the last. So don't work yourself up over that."

Ikari was quite glad to have a meal to enjoy as they talked. If Ikari had nothing to fill her aching stomach, she was bound to go crazy from hunger alone! However, Ikari had this wonderful Oyakodon to fill her up nicely! Chicken may taste good caught wild, but food prepared like this was Ikari’s favorite; especially when all the flavors mixed together and melted wonderfully in her mouth!

Ikari soon took enough time to stop enjoying her meal, take a small drink of sake, and listen to Rita once again. She wished to know more about her healing capabilities. Perhaps their limitations and capabilities? Ikari tilted her head briefly, one of her ears twitching as she looked upon the woman.

“Well… My healing isn’t anything amazing, frankly. It can take a lot of energy if the wounds are quite intense; but I can’t bring people back from the brink of death. If someone is critically injured, my healing wouldn’t be able to help them much. Like, for example, I wouldn’t be able to do much for someone shot in the heart; maybe I could stabilize them, but I don’t think I could properly heal anything so fatal.”

Ikari fiddled a little bit with the outfit she was wearing, which was her only clothes, however she soon let out a tiny sigh as Rita said she needn’t work herself up over workmanship. She would be able to learn with it, and that was helpful. Ikari didn’t much like being called a stray… but it was quite true. No home to call her own, and certainly no owner, she definitely fit the term stray; but she was the most well groomed stray ever god dammit! Her pink hair didn’t stay this luscious otherwise! Regardless, Ikari smiled warmly and nodded at Rita, bowing her head gently in thanks.

“Thank you, Rita… I’m glad I was able to meet you. So… Do you have any other questions for me, at all? Anything you would like me to do…?”

"Well, that's ok. It's still useful for what I planned."

After nodding, Rita took a sip of her Dunkel again and let the sweet beer hit her throat before relaxing and moving ahead with the conversation.

"Well, I have a major operation I plan to start running out of Africa. There is a massive hole filled with hollows in the Vastime Captial. Now, off jump, there is no way I'm sending you into battle. But I'm trying to use my resources to help stabilize the region some, repair the infrastructure, and not sit on my ass. You could definitely help being on the sidelines and venture out there here and there. We'd pay for everything and give you excellent hazard pay."

Straight and to the point, Rita didn't mince words and meant every bit of what she said. So, in return, she pulled out a phone and held the image of Ikari's face along with a bunch of documentation and passports.

"In exchange for working with us, we'll find you shelter, get you a name and you won't have to worry. Don't worry; I'm not a piece of shit. I'm not trying to use you as a meat shield or anything. If something happens, we will get you the hell out of there fast, and our travel between countries is fast. Do you think you could handle this?"

Ikari listened keenly, quietly pulling out her own phone, luckily she wouldn't have to struggle with phone bills anymore... She listened to Rita, her ears perking slowly, fully revealing themselves from her hair as she became further intrigued and slightly troubled by what she heard. Frankly speaking, she would be able to handle everything with relative ease. She had some experience dealing with people in some capacity due to her general past shenanigans and her brief stint as a shrine maiden; she understood in some ways how to aid people. Not to mention, she was able to hold her own if need be; especially if any hollow came around. Her speed and skill with weapons wasn't just for show. After all, the world was a cruel one, and a helpless fox had no place in it.

As Ikari contemplated what was given to her, Ikari tilted her head, her ears once more falling down to become semi-hidden within her hair. Truthfully, it was a tempting offer, and one the fox felt she could hardly refuse. Then, the Danava turned her thoughts towards what Rita said about "get you a name"? Ikari already had a name! One she liked quite a great deal.

"I think I can handle that well, Rita... Thank you. But uhm... What do you mean by "Get me a name?" I already have a name, Ikari Yamashiro... Or did you mean get me a name as in getting me a reputation? Regardless! Everything you have said piques my interest, and I would be more than happy to enter your employ. Is there anything else I should know, Rita?"

Afterwards, Ikari took some swift notes on her phone about what Rita had told her, not wanting to forget anything for later; especially when Ikari ventured back to visit Aiko. After all, Ikari would have a lot to tell her first friend. For now, however, she knew enough that she needed to focus more on the here and now; especially on the woman who was soon to be her new boss.