Little Talks

Little Talks

Silence immediately fell upon the crowd as they turned to their trustworthy and serious captain.

“I’m pleased that you all arrived here on time,” Komamura began gratefully. “I called this meeting, because I am looking for a new member to do the monthly infiltration of Hollows in Karakura Town. It’s just business as usual, as the task this round has been passed to our division.”

A Shinigami was always on watch down in Karakura Town, since trouble always seemed to brew there, however, the man at post there was…not so reliable. (People weren’t even sure which squad he was a part of.) So the new head captain, Kyoraku, decided that each squad should send down one Shinigami every month to do a check-up (except the First Division). That way, Karakura Town was being checked year-round.

“So…” Komamura said gruffly. “Who will it be?”

All of the squad members clamored over each other, waving their hands wildly, as they wanted to be chosen. It was a chance to prove themselves by being on their own, and perhaps rise in the ranks.

Iba-fukutaicho raised an eyebrow as he looked down at his clipboard, which held the roster. “Hold on, Komamura-taicho,” he murmured. “It seems that there is a squad member who isn’t present…”

At that moment the door blew open, and Itoh Moeka barged in, chasing her owl, which had flown in and was now wreaking havoc in the meeting room.

Squad members ran around, screaming as they tried to avoid the owl’s sharp claws.

“Get that damn thing out of here!” one man shouted.

“It’s such a nuisance!”

“G-G…” Moeka stammered, jumping in the air and catching her owl, Pogo. “Got…it!” The dark-skinned woman looked around, her face void of any emotion; despite all of the annoyed looks she was getting from her fellow squad members, and took a seat.

Iba sighed, rubbing the back of his head. “Not again…” he muttered.

As the room began to chatter, Moeka sat alone, looking down at her owl. The woman had few to little friends what with her bizarre personality, crazy owl pet, and her…speech problem.

But once a person would talk to her or hear about her from others…they would instantly turn away. Moeka would talk or sing to herself aloud, even if no one else was around…she collected wrappers and what people thought was garbage off the ground and made collages out of it that she hung in her room.

She even had gotten tattoos of various mustaches on the sides of her fingers so she could make finger mustaches whenever she wanted…all-in-all, people believed she was crazy.

Her speech impediment also threw people off, and brought an immediate feeling of awkwardness. People didn’t know how to act around her when she would struggle for words; her eye would begin twitching…to avoid the uncomfortable situation, people just…avoided her.

Komamura scanned the room, when his eyes landed on Moeka. He remembered meeting her and how she had been so nervous when talking to him, feeling like an idiot and that he would never want someone like her in his squad. However, this only made him more sure that she was mean to be in his division. The wolf knew all too well what it was like to be rejected, and while he had been rejected before due to his appearance, people rejected Moeka for just…being herself. It disgusted him, and so he took her in with open arms.

“Itoh Moeka,” he finally stated. “You will be watching over Karakura Town.”

Moeka had been stroking Pogo’s feathers when she looked up, eyes widening slightly. She opened her mouth to speak, and immediately began struggling with her words, “I…w-w-w-would…” Moeka froze, swallowing a lump in her throat. She grit her teeth, feeling anger come over her, as she tried to get the sentence out. “L…L-L-Like to…d-do it…taicho.”

While the rest of the room had become uncomfortable in seeing her struggle, Komamura nodded, always calm and patient with her. “Head down immediately.”

Moeka stood up and held out Pogo, a signal for someone to watch him while she was gone.

“PLEASE, TAKE POGO!” the entire squad shouted.

Moeka arrived in the Human World and made a stop at the Urahara Shoten to pick up a Gigai for herself and Pogo. She also changed into Human clothes to blend in (though she was sure to stand out anyway once people heard her). She wore light blue jean suspenders, and underneath wore a sheer cream-colored sleeveless top with a wide orange collar, and tan booties.

With Pogo flying close to her, Moeka walked through the town, looking around. She tried to sense some Hollows, though there didn’t seem to be anything in the area. As she was walking, she paused, seeing a candy bar wrapper on the ground. She picked it up, and while a normal person would have thrown it into the trash, she instead shoved the wrapper in her pocket. This action earned stares from the people around her, not only for her keeping garbage, but also for er strange pet owl…

Moeka continued and stopped again when she saw a small knick-knack store. Feeling she could use some more “junk” to clutter her room, she walked in, smiling as she looked around, seeing all of the different trinkets and items.

The woman walked into one of the aisles, which was filled with various mirrors. Moeka smiled in seeing herself and lifted up a finger, creating a finger mustache. “T-Top…of th-the…mornin’ t-to ya…” she greeted herself.

As Moeka switched out mustaches with a different finger, some high school girls standing at the end of the aisle gave her weird looks.

“Is that lady…talking to herself?” one whispered to her friend.

The girl nodded. “She’s so weird…”

“I really hope those tattoos are fake…that’s so tacky.”

“And where the hell did she get that owl from?”

The bell rung, signaling that another customer had come through the door. In walked Azzo Rannulf, wearing a slick suit, along with dark sunglasses. He was a Quincy and wore his sunglasses because the sun hurt his sensitive eyes (which were a mesmerizing pale blue color).

As he passed into the store, the same high school girls’ eyes widened in seeing the scars on his face. However, a few of them blushed, unable to deny his good looks, with his pale skin, long blonde hair, and the mysterious air around him…he seemed dangerous, and it excited the girls.

Working as a college professor at one of the local universities, Azzo went into the store with the intent on picking up some envelopes and other office supplies for his desk, when he stopped. He raised an eyebrow in curiousity in hearing a woman’s voice and went into the aisle where he saw a dark-skinned woman shaking a snow-globe talking into it.

“W-W-Would you…like t-t-to go here…P-Pogo?” the woman asked, turning to an owl, which was perched on a shelf.

The owl merely stared at the woman, turning its head to the side.

Intrigued by her strange personality, Azzo casually made his was closer until he wwas standing next to her, pretending to look at something on the shelf.

He took another glance at her from the corner of his eye…she was certainly beautiful, despite having a strange style of dress…yet he wasn’t one to talk about fashion, as it wasn’t normal for a person to wear suits every day. (Unless they were a businessman, which he wasn’t.)

Azzo pulled a porcelain swan off of the shelf, and held it to Moeka. “Do you think this would be suitable to place on an office desk?” he questioned, trying to start up a casual conversation.

Moeka looked up at him, and then turned away, looking around her.

Azzo blinked. “Err…no, miss, I am talking to you.”

Moeka was surprised this man was even talking to her…she looked at her owl for an explanation, but Pogo’s attention was caught by the bird displays. He ruffled his feathers as though in competition with the lifeless items.

“May I have your name?” he asked smoothly.

“M-M-My name…” Moeka stammered. She put all her concentration into getting the rest of the sentence out without stuttering, but when she heard the snickers from the girls at the end of the aisle, her confidence was completely shot down. “I-I-I-I-It…”

Oh no…she couldn’t stop…! Moeka was usually able to ignore people’s reactions, but this man caught her off guard with his interest in her, and for once she was extremely embarrassed. She didn’t even have the courage to look up at him, afraid to see his disgust with her, even if his eyes were shaded.

“I-I-It’s…Itoh…M-Moeka…” she finally finished. She turned to leave the shop, wanting nothing more than to hide, but Azzo grabbed her wrist, pulling her back.

“And my name is Rannulf Azzo,” the blonde man replied. “Moeka is a beautiful name.” He lowered his head so that she could see his face, as she still refused to look at him. “You don’t have to feel embarrassed,” he assured her softly. “And don’t listen to the people around us.”

Azzo could easily relate to this woman when it came to people’s whispers, as there were others in the store who were whispering about his scars…oh, Azzo had heard it all. People thought he was in the mafia and led a dangerous life, to something as simple as him getting into a knife fight at the bar… Frankly, he didn’t care for any of it. Every one of his scars had a story, and if the people were appalled to see the scars on his face, he couldn’t imagine the kind of reaction people would get if they were to see the rest of his body.

Azzo lowered his sunglasses, revealing his striking pale blue eyes, and turned his head, throwing his “teacher glare” at the whispering girls. This instantly silenced them and they walked away, quickly leaving the shop.

Moeka’s eyebrows went up, impressed. She wished she had such a menacing glare that she could use to silence people…perhaps Pogo could use his blank stare? No…that was creepier than anything else.

Moeka looks up at him, and feels heat rise to her cheeks when he turns back to her, smiling. She quickly looks away, and Azzo appears confused, assuming that she was disturbed in seeing the scars on his face so closely.

However, he became even more bewildered when she began to play with his hair. She ran her hands through his long locks, wishing her hair was as nice as his. She began to sing softly about his hair, surprising him even more.

Azzo was mesmerized by the strange girl…as he watched her continue to play with his hair; he noticed the tattoos on her fingers.

Moeka’s bright pink lips curled into a small smile. She pulled her fingers from his hair to place one under her nose, creating a finger mustache. She lifted her other hand to place a finger under his nose as well, and she quickly said, “One…f-for you, too.” Her smile widened, proud of herself for being able to get out the sentence without much stuttering, even if it was a short one.

Azzo’s eyes widened, though he soon smiled as well, letting out a soft chuckle. “And who is this guy?” he asked, nodding his head toward the owl.

“Ah…th-th-this is…POGO!” Moeka gasped, as the owl flew out of the shop as another customer walked in, leaving the door open. The customer let out a cry, and Moeka pushed past him, chasing after her owl.

Azzo placed his hands in his pockets; staring after her…he was now more curious about this woman than ever.

He hoped to see her again.

THE END