Pickin' Up What I'm Pickin' Up? [Rangiku, Sigurd]

Someone was nervous~!

The blonde's eyes narrowed with the young man's stammering response, raising an eyebrow in turn, "Whaaat? Guys would kill to be in the position you're in right now! Jumped by a bunch of jerks only to be saved by a pretty lady and carried by her to the hospital! Really feeling that much better after a little bit of the magic touch, huh?"

With a bit of a 'hmph' and some feigned offense, she'd drop the guy suddenly - a way that he'd land on his feet of course; she wasn't trying to give him a concussion. Arms crossed, she'd look back at him with a bit of a pout, "I get you heal quick and all, but you could at least pretend!"

He's sure that's not how most men prefer these things to go. If anything, most men he know would probably be offended by all of this, but he's not most men. All he cares about is getting out of this situation without giving away his identity. There's a good chance this woman wouldn't know who he is, but he disliked the very idea of blowing his cover, even to preserve it. Going to a Hospital, if anyone's currently watching him, would only make him an easier target, and with her involved, she'd have a target on her back too. A lot of issues are coming together to form a possibly annoying headache.

To say the least, he wasn't particularly ready for her to drop him, but she had the right idea of at least making it easier for him to land on his feet. Though, he did wobble a bit, and he instantly felt the hole in his gut ache. Even with her help, he'll not be 100% for a little bit.

"Thank you," He said at least, turning his amber eyes her way. Her current expression reminded him of the slime back at home. They'd probably get along, or maybe the similarities would make them hate one another. He's not here to compare women. He's here to-

A sudden flash from afar caught his attention. The next second, he found himself moving faster than he normally should have, pushing the blonde against the wall as they'd both hear the bullet bounce off the ground, indenting it. Instantly, he understood the situation: a sniper.

"We're in danger," He whispered, his chest pressed into the Shinigami with one hand against the wall and the other holding her shoulder.

Pff, he didn't hook onto any of her complaints. So much for finding out more about him, but it wasn't like it was much more than passing curiosity of him and his situation. Oh well, if he was insistent of being alright, it was back to a boring day of work and then right back to Soul Society...As she was about to announce her departure to the strange man with a wave of the hand and a simple 'no problem', suddenly being grabbed and pulled elsewhere right as what sounded like a firework - or rather, gunfire - went off near them.

Her eye twitched, her hands moving faster than her voice as she'd give the man a shockingly powerful slap across the face before grabbing his collar, though had a sense or two to pull them further out of view before snapping her grievances,

"Okay, what the hell, guy?" Her voice was a hard whisper, free hand curled into a fist - she was upset about suddenly being manhandled but she had enough sense to know yelling wasn't the best idea at the moment, "Y'got five seconds to tell me what the hell's going on before I make you wish a bullet in the face was all ya got, Mr. Poor-Guy-Who-Got-Jumped-By-Some-Thugs."

His nose bled, his cheek reddened.

Nothing to note his displeasure, Sigurd gave Rangiku little to work with in terms of reading his mood. Now that he's in work mode, barely anything took precedent but taking care of what's before him. Right now, he's focusing on how to get them both out of this situation, hardly worried about her aggressive distress.

"They're after the Hollow," He'd inform her, shooing her hand from around his collar. "It's a smuggling ring that I was assigned to dismantle."

Always someone careful enough to check any loose ends. He'd not be surprised if those men are already dead for giving up valuable information. Playing the unassuming bystander helped in getting idiots to spill information accidentally. A Shinigami arriving just wasn't part of the plan.

"We're surrounded, and they're probably equipped with tools to handle Shinigami."

There's no point in relaying anything useless. He kept it short and simple as he dared to look outside of their hiding spot. A sudden flash caught his eye before a bullet broke through the wall. He'd move before then though.

"Let's go."

One shot and they'll be preparing for the next. However, Sigurd's sprinting through the alley before entering out onto the streets rolling before turning his back into a parked car. Immediately reaching for its handle, he slammed the door open, practically tearing it from its hinges before pulling out an AR 15.

Not intent on checking on his Shinigami companion, he busied himself preparing to fight.

This guy was chalking up to be a real weirdo, but they were in a dangerous situation - now wasn't the time for petty judgement calls. But with his mentioning of them being 'after the Hollow', it was enough to make the blonde let go, raising an eyebrow, "A Hollow? That can't be right.."

There weren't any reports of Hollows in this area, if anything it just chalked up to be a more relaxed Konso job that she had wrapped up. The possibility of one developing recently or even being evasive was possible but... Wait a smuggling ring? His sentence confirmed her suspicions but it went a lot further than she thought - he was meant to dismantle one?! Was he an investigator or mercenary or something? Either way, the vice captain kept up with her unexpected ally in this situation, sword drawn and already trying to pick out where their opponents could be, the mere detail that they could be equipped to take her enough to convince that it was serious enough to use force.

As Sigurd went to fetch whatever it was from that car, her attention was brought outward in addition to considering where they could have been shot from, looking at any high points they could be perched. If another shot came for them, the quick utterance of a Kido spell and a raised hand would deploy Enkosen to intercept the bullet's strike; she could have gone for a lower level spell if she had any certainty of the opponent's equipment, but it was better to be safe than take some steel to the face.

"Sure hope getting a hole in your stomach was part of the plan!" A partially unenthused comment would come from her as she was intent on keeping the defensive and surveillance strong.

"They thought me dead. You came and saved me. Put two and two together."

A gun wound's nothing. He's been through worse, but he had hoped that the Shinigami's help would have dissuaded any retaliation. Their pursuers must either be sure of themselves or overtly cocky. They'll find out which soon enough.

"Cover me," He'd announce as he rose up for a second.

Instantly, he was fired upon, bullets raining from above, but his actions did reveal their assailants position. If his Shinigami friend was going to do something, now would be the time. Luckily, she's competent enough to prepare a Kido to intercept most of the bullets.

Sigurd had moved to the front of the car, opening the door. Reaching inside, he took out the keys from the dashboard. This is his car after all, but that's when he caught a sudden flash in the car's sidemirror.

"Dammit," He muttered before giving up on his initial plan. He had seconds to react, getting free from the car again before running into the Shinigami. She'd probably protest what happened next, but the explosion that'd she see as she found herself carried away would probably shut her up.

Sure, fine, she got it - wasn't any need for him to be rude about it but, whatever, not the situation to get argumentative. She was far more surprised that they were willing to open fire on a Shinigami, let alone a Vice Captain - they had to be stupid, overconfident, or really wanted to kill this guy. Regardless of how shifty he seemed, she wasn't intent on having to perform Konso for somebody else today.

"Covering!" Gosh she was kicking herself for not having put more practice into barrier spells! All she could do was use techniques to reflect the bullets while keeping an eye out for where they were coming from; if she just knew where they were firing and could deal with it without causing too much damage...!

There!

"Bakudo Sanjyuuichi, Shakkahou!" Intentionally weakening the Kido, she'd shoot her shot, the red glare of the attack lunging for the source of the bullets right as she felt someone shove into her from behind and grab her. The subsequent crack of an explosion on the ears was well enough of an explanation as she felt swept off her feet.

"Damn, nice save..!" An uncomfortable compliment breathed in his direction, but the brief ringing in her ears didn't give much confidence as to how audible it was.