The Negotiation Limerick File [Rukia, Alastair]

The repaired Senkaimon, and the gradual reduction of duties left for her to focus on in the former 2nd Division, meant that Rukia could finally take a trip to Earth that had been burning in her mind for some time. She wasn't really interested in everything she'd been hearing about the rest of the shinigami; she had more personal reasons for going down. She'd read every report already, she'd seen Ichigo. Spoken to him.

But there was one person she still hadn't met with, only one person that she thought even might have answers about Orihime. That was why she arrived at the City of Lights, still looking exhausted as ever, bags under her eyes and her Captain's haori worn and tattered in places. No, it wasn't the attire of a woman who was ready for a formal meeting with someone important. But it was the only thing that Rukia, who'd been working unceasingly to save lives, could ever wear these days.

"Kuchiki Rukia, former captain of the Gotei United's 2nd Division. I'm here to meet with Grandmaster Eisfluch."

He, at least, was bound to have answers. If not him, someone down here. Rukia wasn't going to just let these questions go nowhere in her own head.

Several former members of the Gotei had accepted Alastair's offer of employment, so perhaps Rukia would not be surprised that her sudden arrival within the City was treated as another such event. It was a hectic place, even compared to how the metropolis had been previously, as Welpo officials patrolled the streets with a newfound purpose - that of ensuring that everything was in place for the transition. But for all of that potential pandemonium, there was an unmistakable order to everything that was occurring. Like a finely oiled machine, there was a rhythm and sense of unity that might give an outsider pause for thought.

It did not take long at all before she was ushered into the Grandmaster's office, though. Opening into that austere room with only a single desk, behind which Alastair stood, and a lot of empty space. Despite all that emptiness, though, there was really nowhere else to focus on but that of Wahrender's leader as he watched her approach in turn.

"Ms Kuchiki, I will admit that I was surprised to hear that you were here." Formalities came to him as easy as breathing, his tone perhaps familiar of a particular noble brother she had grown to loathe, but there was an unmistakable honesty behind his eyes which might have been refreshing. It was not quite kindness or sympathy, that would have been misplaced, but rather just a genuine intrigue. "Is there something in particular that Wahrender can assist you with?"

Some people, most people even probably would have been impressed by the way everything was running here. In some ways, Rukia was too, but her thoughts were elsewhere. She didn't have time to linger on any of that, and her reasons for being here were more than enough to maintain her focus. She stepped into the office and took a seat opposite Wahrender's leader, wondering just how direct she ought to be.

"There is. Ichigo Kurosaki was my friend a long time ago. So was the woman he took that you call Shirohime. How much do you know? About her, and about the situation."

It wasn't necessarily a probing question; it was genuine, because Rukia needed to know what she was working with here. She had only needed the reports to understand exactly what had happened, exactly who it was Ichigo had taken away from this place.