[Aivee] Bite of an Apple [Open]

"Goddamnit, why the fuck did I get up this early?" came the voice of an annoyed male from the Outskirts of Karakura. While it was common knowledge that anywhere outside of Karakura City's dome or any of the major cities were dangerous and potentially hollow-infested, yet some people still ventured out. Of course, because the outskirts were so close to the city and it's barrier, the Outskirts of Karakura were usually safe enough for normal people to venture out into with minimal protection. That being said, nowhere on Earth was truly safe, and there was always the chance that a strong hollow would appear this close to the city. Call it coincidence, or merely bad luck, but today was simply one of those "highly unlikely" days. Out in a more open area, around the same place that the annoyed voice was heard, smoke and flames could be seen rising from the ground; and it looked as if there was a fight going on. Upon closer inspection, it was quite clear that two beings were fighting; a hollow and what appeared to be a human with... his arms on fire? Yes, the man who was fighting the hollow defiantly had what appeared to be fire where his arms should be. This, of course, also explained the clearing that they were currently fighting in; it seemed that the man had literally burnt away any of the plants or obstructions. That, combined with the fact that this man's "fire arms" seemed to cause him no pain pretty much shouted that he had fire-based powers.

Once one got past the "fire arms", this man had a few other features that set him apart. For starters, he had rather long, crimson red hair, done up in what could almost be described as a "mullet" style. Of course, judging by how it was messily arranged the man probably didn't spend much time on worrying how it looked. Moving further down, the man had bright green eyes, seemingly contrasting his hair color, a scowl on his face, and a cigarette between his lips. Yes, even though he was in the middle of the fight, this man was still smoking; as if the fight meant nothing to him. Other than this, the man wore a black, sleeveless shirt that exposed some of his muscular build, dark blue jeans, and combat boots. Overall, this man looked like your classic description of a "punk", and his words only reinforced that classification. The man, of course, was none other than Axel; the Hawaiian badass with his own restaurant here in karakura City. As for why he was out here in the outskirts fighting hollows? Well, that was probably the simplest thing about him; simply because he felt like it. Yes, saying that Axel was a rather "violent" character would be an accurate description of his personality most of the time. A lot of the time, when he wasn't busy running his restaurant, Pele's Passion, Axel could be found outside of the city looking for hollows or demons to kill. Well, ok, either that, or he could be found at some bar drinking copious amounts of alcohol. Still, the reason he was here was to kick some hollow ass, and seeing as he ran into a rather powerful one almost directly outside of the city, today just must be his lucky day.

"Ugh, seriously now, you're too much of a fucking bore for so early in the morning; liven up or something" Axel said in an annoyed tone again to the hollow, even though it probably couldn't understand him. Up until this point in the little fight, all Axel had been doing was dodging and missing on purpose, trying to make it at least a little interesting for him. Seeing as that was failing, Axel decided, with a sigh, to simply finish off the hollow. "Alright, I've wasted enough of my morning on you, you're no longer even worth warming up on" Axel said, before taking a puff of his cigarette. In the next moment, Axel seemed to literally disappear from where he had been standing; having used his Calor Velocidad ability to move at high speeds and appear right in front of the hollow. Cocking his right arm back, Axel stored an excessive amount of energy behind his fist, and in one quick, powerful motion, he let it loose by slamming his fist straight into the hollow's mask. Needless to say, because of the force he had put behind his punch, the hollow's body was sent flying for quite a good distance; landing near what appeared to be a rather old house. While the blow had easily broken the hollow's mask, because of the force, it had been thrown so fast that it managed to land on the ground before really dissolving any.

With the hollow dead, Axel's attention was immediately focused onto something else; another person. Because the person had a very low level or reiatsu, Axel hadn't even noticed their presence when he was fighting. Of course, the fact that he had launched the hollow's deceased body in their direction also helped in him noticing them. While Axel was usually an anti-social person, or at least wanted others to think that he was, he was not a completely uncaring asshole. So, deactivating his powers, his arms returning to, well, his actual arms; Axel quickly made his way towards where the person was. Because they were rather close, it took Axel no time to reach the person; and he was slightly surprised by what he saw. Standing around outside the old house was...a little girl; looking to be no older that 18, perhaps even younger. Not only this, but judging by her overall appearance, she did not seem much like a fighter, though that was only an assumption. Either way, this girl did not look like she belonged here. Walking up to her, Axel kept up his whole "punk" look, a small scowl still on his face. "Oi! What the hell are ya doing out here exactly?" he asked the girl in an informal tone. While Axel usually didn't just approach other people, the situation he was in made it seem to be the right course of action. Well, that, and deep deep down, Axel usually prefers for innocent people not to get hurt.

"Goddamnit, this is why I don't talk to people" Axel thought to himself as he heard the young girls response. Granted, his own words were admittedly more on the harsh side, so this response was not unexpected; but Axel got the impression that this girl would be hard to deal with. Sighing to himself, Axel let the butt of his now finished cigarette fall from his lips to the ground, snuffing it out as he finished listening to the girls words. Judging from her words, this girl seemed to be a bit of a smart ass, though that was only in reference to his own words. Of course, the weird thing about the young girl was how she spoke; without any emotion or real feeling behind her words. If he had to guess, she was probably your typical "troubled teenage girl with a rough past", at least from what little he has observed so far. Sighing again after his little analysis, Axel reached his left hand to the back pocket of his jeans, produced a half empty packet of cigarettes, pulled one out, and placed it in his lips. Raising his right hand to the cigarette, Axel snapped his fingers; producing a spark which lit the cigarette. Looking at the young girl, Axel took a deep puff from the cigarette before speaking to her again.

"Alright look, I'm not trying to be an asshole here or anything, just, well, I usually don't meet anyone else out here; let alone a young girl" Axel said in a softer tone than before. Seeing as this young girl would only tense up if he kept up with his "cool/punk-ish" attitude, Axel decided to soften his tone and try to be a bit nicer. While it was rare for him to act like this, it was not unheard of; though he never showed this side off in public. Taking another puff of his cigarette, Axel took it away from his lips with his left hand to tap off some of the ash. "Now, before we go any further, how about some introductions; the name's Axel" he said, introducing himself. While his tone was softer and a bit nicer than before, it did carry a sort of begrudging hint; as if he really didn't like to be so "nice" unless he really had to. Sure, this fact definitely did not help paint a better image for him, but to be honest, Axel didn't give two shits what other people thought about him. With his introduction done, Axel brought the cigarette back up to his lips before adopting a more serious look on his face.

"Now then, you said you lived out here right? But, well, to be blunt, this is no place for a little girl like yourself" Axel began, taking a short inhalation from his cigarette when he paused. While his tone was back to being more blunt, it was in no way meant as an insult. Sure, the girl may take offense to him implying that she was "weak", but when it came down to it, she really didn't seem to have the power to protect herself from the hollows and demons that roamed the wastelands. "I mean, I'll admit that ya have some guts for coming out here all by yourself, but that doesn't really mean much when a hollow is ripping said guts from your stomach" he continued, making the point that this was not a safe place. Though he kept up the more blunt tone while talking, one would almost get the feeling that there was some sympathy, some actual compassion behind Axel's words. Of course, this could only even begin to be noticed if you were actually paying attention to his words. "In all honesty, I would advise you to actually stay within Karakura's dome unless ya had someone or something to protect ya" he finished, a very slight sigh after his words.

Taking another moment to look at the young girl after his little "speech", Axel realized just how out of place she was out here. It wasn't just her seeming lack of any real powers, but just her overall appearance made it seem like she would be more at home in some Gothic-style castle than out here in the wastelands. Sure, everyone had the right to make their own decisions and mistakes, but something about the girl made him feel, well, a bit sorry for her. "I mean, I can understand if ya don't have anywhere to actually stay in the city, but even then it's a lot safer than staying out here" Axel said as he looked at the house behind the girl. As he did so, an idea came to his mind; though he was almost positive that he would end up regretting it later. Sighing, he began to speak. "Alright look, if ya absolutely have nowhere else to go, I suppose I could let you crash at my apartment for a while, seeing as I hardly use the place myself" Axel said, something akin to a look of defeat across his face. To be honest, the offer he had just made was extremely rare considering how Axel usually acted; but even he admittedly had a soft side. Not only that, but if anything happened to this girl now, he would feel partially responsible.

As if his earlier premonitions weren't enough, Axel was now positive that this young girl was gonna be a huge hassle. Granted, that being said, he wasn't turning away, so at least for the moment it seemed that he was willing to put up with her. Of course, with that personal decision made, Axel had no idea where to start with this girl; Shisome she said her name was. Sighing, he decided that it would be best to start from the beginning; though the sigh was probably more because his current cigarette was almost done. "Uh, yeah, the pleasures all mine and what not; and no, Axel is my only name, nothing comes after it" he responded when Shisome gave him her name. While it may seem a little odd to most, Axel really didn't have a last name; though he also never actually had any parents or even family for that matter. While this could bother some other people, Axel, just as with most things, really didn't care. Unfortunately, after his statement, Axel's cigarette finally burned out, and with an annoyed look he tossed it to the ground with the butt of his earlier cigarette, snuffing it out as well. This time, however, he did not go to get another one. By now, he could tell that this was gonna take some time, and didn't feel like wasting a perfectly good cigarette when he was probably just gonna end up getting frustrated.

As for Shisome's next statement, Axel couldn't help but shake his head. "Look, you may know how to fight some sure, but its time to wake up from whatever fantasy world you're living in and face facts; you don't stand a chance against the creatures that roam out here" he said with both a serious tone and look on his face. While he was back to being serious and blunt, the fact that he was actually trying to get her to realize the whole situation meant that he did actually care at least a little bit. "I know that ya think I don't know you or something, but trust me, I can already see just how strong you are; and it's not strong enough" he continued, still in a serious manner. While his methods may seem a little harsh, Axel was really only looking out for Shisome's best interest here. He knew just how stubborn people could be when ya called them weak, but sometimes ya just gotta tell it to them straight to their face. Now, this all being said, Axel didn't think that he was some super powerful being, but he knew that his powers put him on a different level than Shisome here. Unless she were to somehow suddenly develop powers overnight, then this girl would not last long out here on her own. Of course, it was Shisome's last words that troubled Axel the most.

"...Please tell me you're not serious with that one" Axel said, a hint of disbelief in his tone. Sure, he knew plenty of people who didn't have any powers, but he had never actually met someone who was oblivious to the existence of hollows. "Um, yeah, you know the big, masked, monster things that are pretty much the reason why the world is like it is today" Axel said, still not believing that Shisome had no idea what a hollow was. "Without a way to fight them, without powers of your own, you're pretty much a sitting duck to a fucking hollow" he added, going back to his previous point a bit as well. Sighing, Axel shook his head after trying to explain all of this to the young girl. "Seriously, how fucking bad is my luck to have come across this girl and be unable to just walk away?" Axel thought to himself, going back to why he usually didn't talk to others. Still, he had already come this far, and as he stated, he was unable to just walk away. "As for staying at my place, what I mean by that is I'm not gonna just leave you out here to die, and I'm not just gonna toss you some random place in the city" Axel said with a sigh. By now, he was really hating his kinder side, as he knew he was just making more trouble for himself. But, by now, he really couldn't turn back.

Axel couldn't help but sigh at the girl's naivete, his shoulders drooping in an almost comedic manner. "Why the fuck do I have such bad luck?" he asked himself in a hushed tone while sighing. Being, well, who he was, Axel usually didn't socialize with others all too often, but when he did, it always seemed like he chose the weirdest people. This Shisome girl was definitely one of the weirder ones; being both oblivious and stubborn. Despite the humility with which the girl spoke about not being the best fighter, it was still quite clear that she still didn't really understand what he was saying. "I'm not talking about some damned bear here" Axel replied, a bit of annoyance evident in his tone. It wasn't that he was getting angry at the girl, but more that the whole situation was admittedly grating on his nerves a bit. While the few conversations he got into always seemed to end up something like this one; since they were still usually few and far between they always got on his nerves. Still, since he had already come this far, there was no way in hell that Axel was gonna just give up and go home. That was one... odd thing about Axel, once he set his mind on something, even if it pissed him off (and it almost always did), he would not give up till he got his way. In most cases this was just because he was a stubborn punk, but in a few rare cases it was because he actually cared a bit (though he would NEVER admit it). While it was still too early to actually tell, this current case with Shisome was probably the latter.

Of course, before he could say or think anything else, Axel was... well, not caught off guard by the girl's words, but visually reacted to them. "Holy shit, just how dense can this girl get?" he thought to himself, his facial features easily betraying his thoughts. At first he was assuming that maybe the girl just didn't recognize the name hollow, but now it was clear that she actually knew completely nothing about hollows. Of course, that wasn't the only part of Shisome's words that caught Axel's attention; the whole part about "Shinigami-sama" and fate also caught his eye... er, ear. As one could have probably guessed by now, Axel believed that the whole fate and "things that were meant to be" ideas were complete bullshit. Being a man of action and relying only on himself, relying on fate to dictate your future was a sign of weakness to Axel. And yet oddly enough, the few times that he did actually wind up socializing with others could probably best be described as fate; even if that so called "fate" was only to piss him off. Either way, Axel had a few choice words to say in response to. Of course, as if she had predicted this, Shisome entered the old house before had anything more to say that "what the fuck?". So, begrudgingly, Axel followed the girl into her house.

As expected from the outside, the inside of this little house was a little dingy and showed the signs of aging, or at least having not been lived in for a while. If he wasn't sure before, Axel was positive that he was not gonna let this girl stay here. As she offered him tea, Axel finally got what he wanted to say together in his head; and with a sigh placed his right hand on Shisome's shoulder momentarily to keep her from going off. "Alright, first things first, this whole fate concept is just fucked up; the only way you're gonna die is if you do nothing to prevent it, not because it was supposed to happen" Axel started, his tone serious but not really annoyed anymore. In fact, this was probably the closest thing to a "caring" tone that Axel ever took. "With that aside, I honestly can't believe how you've never even so much as seen a hollow before, seeing as they're, well, everywhere nowadays" he continued, moving onto his next point without changing his tone. "To sum it up, hollows are corrupted souls that essentially 'lost their hearts' before a Shinigami could send them to the Soul Society" Axel concluded, explaining the bare basic concept of what a hollow was. While Shisome had mentioned a "Shinigami-sama", Axel was pretty sure that she really didn't know about actual Shinigami or the Soul Society either, but he'd get to those later. Done with his little "lecture", Axel sighed again, resting his head on his right hand, as if he were thinking. Before going any further, he decided to wait for the girl's response so he'd at least have some idea of how to approach this.