How about a drink? [Closed]

"Yeah, yeah, alright, I'm back, I'm back!" Her voice was loud and brash, berating the people who tried to get her to sign their paperwork, or some crap like that. She'd only been back in the goddamn Soul Society for all of five minutes, when someone from somewhere had attempted to get her to do her fucking Captainly duties. Yeah, no, fuck off. She'd do them when she'd actually had something to eat, since she was starving. The eyepatch moved with her face as she snarled at the fool who had held the papers out before her. He ran away with his tail between his legs. She was, therefore, satisfied with this result. Continuing with her walk, she started to filter in with the rest of the crowd of the Seireitei. There wasn't really much else to do today--she simply didn't feel like going straight for her paperwork. Honestly, who liked doing paperwork all the time? She'd rather just hang around, maybe have a drink or fifteen... Y'know, normal stuff for her. Yeah. Grinning internally, she started to wander towards the more 'social' parts of the Seireitei.

There was a particularly nice little joint that she knew of in here--one that offered a good drink. She had money to spare, and being the Third Division's Captain certainly didn't hurt your chances of getting a cheap sink. Trawling through the crowds until she reached the tavern, she opened the doors and stepped inside with a grin. Those who saw her, recognized her. Those who didn't, simply noticed her presence. She stepped forwards into the room, and while grinning wildly, approached the bar and took her seat.

"Right. Just the one. I gotta start slowly. Bottle'o'sake, if y'please." The bottle was passed pretty quickly, and she poured herself her first dip. This was gonna be a good afternoon.

Well, if it wasn't the Cap'n of the Fifth Division. Honestly, Sascha didn't care to recall names unless they'd had something of a powerful mote in her life--therefore, this woman had never really been too involved in it for her to care. Instead, she simply knew her as the Fifth. She wondered what this one was doing here, as she seemed far too proper for a rowdy little sink such as this one. She downed another couple of sips of the drink, thinking to herself for a few seconds. Was it wise for her to attempt to speak to this woman? Honestly, she figured that most of the other Captains didn't like her--whether it was for the fact that she was mostly just a fighter, or rather disrespectful by her own right, she'd never know. Instead, she liked to keep to herself. She fought, and she wrote books. That was pretty much the entirety of her life as it stood right now. Actually, now that she thought about it--she'd had some good ideas during that last battle, which she definitely wanted to jot down.

Reaching into her pocket, Sascha produced a small notepad and a pen. She placed it on the bar, thought for a moment, and then started scribbling words onto the page. They started off normally, but then for some reason she found herself sketching. She didn't sketch as often as she wrote, but she did enjoy it sometimes. Every so often, Sascha would bring her head up from the paper to look at the subject of her sketches--especially since her memory wasn't perfect, even with such a short time from seeing to sketching. She looked at the features as she drew, taking in the curves of her face, the softness of her eyes and the femininity of her upper shoulders. She took in everything that there was to be taken in, and in doing so discovered something beautiful in this woman. Honestly, Sascha swung both ways--this was a case no different. She found herself marginally attracted to this woman, and yet she knew that it wouldn't come to pass... to be frank she'd already daydreamed slightly in the time she was sketching. A soft chuckle left her lips and she made the finishing touches on her sketches... not realizing that she was being looked at.

Ah, fuck, she'd been noticed. At this moment, Sascha felt the dire need to cut her losses and get the hell out of here. Not only had she been recognized and called out for it, but this had also occurred while she was sketching somebody. In public. She wasn't sure how much more embarrassing it could get--so she had to really do something to get out of this situation. She scowled, bringing the notepad closer to her chest and staring quietly at Kaminari with a defensive expression. For a few tense seconds she held this pose, before finally relenting and putting the pad down on the surface. "'ere. I don't usually let people see this kinda thing, so count yourself lucky, Cap'n." She slid it along the bar itself towards the other woman with a soft sigh. Her face was slowly reddening from the feeling of embarrassment that she was experiencing. She was supposed to be tough! Only a few people knew that she was the one who authored and published her books--nobody knew that she drew like this. She wasn't sure how Kaminari would feel, honestly.

"S-sorry. I... normally don't let myself get seen, so I was a bit too obvious this time, eh?" She laughed nervously, attempting to keep something of a hardened demeanor out there for Kaminari to see... but she didn't know if it'd work anymore. Frankly, she wouldn't be surprised if Kaminari threw down the book in a disgusted manner and reported her to the Head Captain. She was sure that someone out there would do it, since there were people who really didn't appreciate this kind of action. She closed her free eye and waited for the verdict--either way, she was going to get an answer. Either way, someone was finally seeing her art for the first time. The suspense was killing her.

So, this was the moment of truth. If Kaminari weren't a Captain, it was more than likely that Sascha would've immediately remained defensive rather than simply relenting and allowing her to see what she was doing. Anybody else would've received a smack on the back of the head, followed by a blushy Sashca leaving the bar with notepad in hand. The fact that Kaminari was of equal rank--and therefore equal respect--to Sascha meant that she couldn't quite do that without leaving a bad taste in everyone's mouths. That was fine by her, to a degree--but she had never actually let anyone see something like this before. She was meant to be a personification of war itself; not some little puppy baring its fangs at the world in an attempt to appear more frightening than it really was. Her heart rate had increased and she was shaking slightly--out of nervousness rather than excitement.

"There is no need to be so shy about it." She felt that rapidly beating heart skip a few. Did she just say what she thought? "Truthfully, I'm flattered. It's a beautiful piece of art work, if I do say so myself." She started to, nicely, critique and talk up Sascha's art. She... liked it? Truth be told, Sascha was flabbergasted. She had no idea how to feel about this situation, other than extremely flattered and maybe even slightly happy. Her free eye opened completely, staring at Kaminari as if a deer in the headlights, but at the same time taking in the features that she had just drawn up.

It is as it was--Kaminari was still extremely pretty. A red tinge was on Sascha's cheeks as she stared, not sure how she was feeling--and not really sure about what Kaminari was saying. It wasn't until the other's tone raised up in the form of a question that she finally snapped out of it. "--en and how did you learn? It looks like you might have been doing it for quite some time." Sascha blinked and smiled softly, trying to break the ice and stop herself from feeling like a complete fool.

"I've been doin' it f'er as long as I can remember. M'stly self-taught, since I needed somethin' t'do when I wasn't training or writin'." She nodded slowly, still staring at Kaminari's facial features. She felt a crush coming along, and she'd barely even started talking to the damn woman! "Guess I'm better than I thought, eh?" She laughed nervously, trying to get this woman to distract her from the butterflies in her chest.

Yeah, yeah, whatever. It was nice to see a less aggressive side of her or some crap like that. Sascha really didn't know at this point--she was more worried about the fact that she'd been found out, and was resisting the urge to drown herself in a bottle of beer. The temptation was there, and it was strong. Muttering to herself about 'being too tempted', she placed a hand lightly on her right hip and raised an eyebrow. As she went to open her mouth to complain, a rather large groan was heard from Miss Captain. Usually, Sascha wouldn't enquire. But right now, something was getting to her. Something about being found out. So maybe she would ask. Maybe she would see what exactly was going on within the mind of Captain Kaminari. The bartender spoke--Sascha generally ignored him--until Kaminari herself asked for something alcoholic. Well this was unusual. The priss wanted a piss-up? She smirked and looked over to the bartender herself. "--get my friend here whatever she likes."

Just what she wanted to hear. "Something strong, if I can. A good whisky should do the trick--on the rocks, too." She grinned and looked back over to the Captain--whose last name finally clicked into her head. She remembered something that she was told to do involving this woman's name--oh, right! She remembered a story involving this woman's name and some ninja... "Is there something on your mind, Captain Kakashiyama?" She tilted her head and gave a wide smile, as if she'd done something so right. A glass clinked on the bar next to her, but she ignored it, staring only at Kaminari through her one exposed eye.

Oh. Hatakeyama. She got the wrong name in the mix. Riiight. Sighing quietly as she sipped her mixture of alcohol and ice, Sascha calmly closed her eyes and waited for the right moment for Kaminari to speak up. She opened one eye to watch her out of, wondering the reactions to her questions would be. Honestly, she didn't mind too much if she wasn't told what the problem here was. To be fair, it wasn't anything to do with Sascha. If Kaminari told her to mind her own business, slapped her and then walked right out the door... Sascha probably wouldn't mind. However, it appeared that things were going to go differently for the errant Captain, as Kaminari sipped her own drink and began to explain.

"It's not exactly the easiest thing to talk about..." Never was. Usually, people had an easier time talking about other peoples' problems than their own. If it were so easy, she'd be yammering on--with or without Sascha's permission. She chuckled internally. "There's someone in my squad that's going to go through something that they don't know is coming... I know it's gonna happen, but I don't know how... or if I should tell them. I fear telling them because it may cause the process to speed up, but if I don't tell them it's possible that they will not be ready and lose themselves completely..." She blinked. Okay, this was some heavy fucking shit. She quickly chugged back her drink and placed the glass on the bar, grinning with sinister intent at the barkeep.

"I'm gonna need another, keep. Put it on m'tab, you know I keep up my payments." As the barkeep went do to whatever barkeepers do while they pour your drink (in convenient spaces of time) Sascha turned her attention completely to the lovely Captain Hatakeyama. "Your vagueness implies that there's something afoot." She sat one leg on the other as if she were going to cross them, but left one hanging dowards, "Something that you don't want the bigwigs hearin' about, amirite?" Her writer's mind was churning. She knew a good goddamn plot when she saw one--and this was a good'un.

The cool glass touched against her lips almost immediately after being brought to her attention by the barkeeper, who was obviously trying his hardest not to pay attention to this situation. If he heard anything, he could be made liable to sell it to certain parties who weren't privy to information such as this. Sascha had no intention of letting this information fall into the wrong hands, especially if it concerned what she almost knew it did. She wasn't sure yet--she'd have to get confirmation from Captain Hatakeyama herself--but if her gut was right, then this was definitely something nobody else was allowed to hear about. In fact, Sascha was almost certain that anyone finding out about this would mean certain death for those involved--that was something she didn't want to let happen.

No.

She wouldn't let it.

"H-He's gonna hollowfy." Knew it. Fucking called it. Sascha's expression darkened at the thought of a fellow Shinigami turning into a Hollowfied being. She recalled the name--Vizard. "It's t-tearing him apart. I want to tell him, but it could cause it to happen so much faster, and I don't want to lose him. I've watched too many people go through that bullshit and I hate it." She moved around so that she was looking directly at Kaminari, who had let the waterworks completely flow down her cheeks by now. Sascha's expression remained hard, as she tried not to let the sorrow that Kaminari was feeling get to her as well. She swallowed back some more of her alcohol, and finally felt it starting to set in on her body. "I can't do anything... anything to help him. I see him walk around with headaches... his eyes change, his power fluctuates... And he has no idea. I don't know what to do. Do I keep it from him? Tell him? Do I risk him panicking and causing it to happen early? Once he hollowfies, I know he's gone. He won't be allowed to stay in the Gotei... a-and that's... his entire dream... He'll lose it all."

A sigh. That was the first response that Sascha had, her cheeks now slightly redder due to the alcohol and maybe a little bit by the vulnerability of the woman in front of her. She swallowed back the last of her whisky, and let out another long breath of air. How was she going to respond to this? She really had no idea what to do--especially not now that Kaminari had effectively spilt her entire deluge of feelings into the air. Was she to sympathize with her--to tell her that everything was going to be okay? Or was her role in this to be the tough matron, and to explain that it was the way things went sometimes. She finally felt herself moving of her own accord, sliding off of the chair and letting her feet touch ground.

"Alright... I... can't really understand what's goin' on with ya. I've never seen anyone get to this point in their lives, and I sure as shit wouldn't want to see them go through it. Shit, the worst thing I remember is fire and war--but that's pretty much been my entire life. I've never had to deal with... loss, like that." She folded her arms slightly, dropping the façade of strength that had pretty much been her entire shtick. She still didn't know what to do, and yet her hand instinctively reached out for Kaminari's face, a finger wiping away one of the tears that had been dripping down her cheek.

"'Value the tears you have, my dear, for I have no more to give.' I wrote that, as a line in one of my more successful novels," she chuckled softly, shaking her head, "It was supposed to be said from a lover to another, but I'm sure it can work between two Captains as well as anything." She tried to give Kaminari her brightest and most reassuring smile in an attempt to make her feel better, but decided to take it just a little further. She stepped forwards and wrapped her arms around the body of the other woman, giving her most comforting--and rather awkward--hug.

"I don't know what's gonna happen to this lil' mite of your's that you've got. Shit, I never know what's gonna happen the next day even. But I do know that, no matter what, things'll work out. And maybe..." She swallowed back bile, making sure she was using all of her knowledge on Hollowfication to say this, "Maybe rushing the process is best for both of you. It'll hurt a lot, sure. But it'll also hurt less than it would to watch him degrade into a beast without control. And who knows? You might even be able to control the process; make it so that he can use the power 'imself. If you can get him to do it in a controlled situation, then you don't risk... him turning in amongst his peers and being executed." She didn't like giving such a harsh truth; but it was a necessity. She continued to hug Kaminari, trying to comfort her with her body as much as her words.

It wasn't in her best interests to give away her pseudonym so easily to another person, but she decided that with Kaminari--it was okay. As long as her identity wasn't given away to other people through the usage of rumor, she would be fine with this continuing. Their bodies remained together through this time, and Sascha felt as if this was the most precious interaction with another being that she had felt in a long while. She breathed out, noticing Kaminari pulling herself out of the hug with a few words in return.

"Thank you, Captain Koenig. You're probably right. This is going to be such a pain in the ass..." She chuckled, nodding in something that could probably be called understanding, before shrugging. "If you think so, it probably will be." Her words were somewhat cryptic, but she didn't deign to explain herself as she watched Kaminari pick up her drink and down some of it--okay, all of it then. It was strange to see someone who appeared so clean-cut to drink alcohol in such a simplistic manner. "Mm... I don't exactly drink often, but this seems to be helping some too..." Sascha laughed softly and stretched out, returning to sit on her barstool and starting to drink a bit more of her alcohol.

Once that glass had been downed, she called for another--definitely starting to show minor signs of inebriation. Her cheeks were reddening, and the world around her was starting to swirl a little. She felt light-headed, but didn't really care too much. She'd continue to drink anyway. She was confused, though. Kaminari looked... unusual, in this light. Maybe it had something to do with how much she had studied her movements and curves, but she was sure that there was something... amazing about her. She just didn't know what it was yet. Trying not to worry too much, she simply leaned back onto the bar and downed her next drink with gusto. She felt like getting a bit more into her.

"So, now that you know, what do you think? I could use some ideas for my next novel." She laughed softly, looking over at her with a slightly seductive expression glossing over her face and lips.

Sascha was, to say the least, a little bit unsatisfied with Kaminari's answer. It wasn't to say that she was unhappy with it, but she had hoped that someone who had apparently read her novels and loved them as much as Kaminari would at least have a little bit of advice to give her when it came to what she might be able to do next. Apparently not--but in the end, Sascha didn't mind too much. She knew that not everybody had ideas pop out of the air just like that. It had been a while since Sascha had fought a good fight, so maybe that's what she was missing. She'd have to find some Hollows to pummel or something. Yeah, that'd do it. She was slightly lost in her thoughts, so she only just heard Kaminari speak something else to her.

"Hey... I'm gonna go for a walk, or something. The air in here is stuffy." Sascha watched Kaminari step off of the stool and alight to the ground. She didn't realize it until it was too late, but she was watching the curves of Kaminari's back as she moved. She was marginally entranced. "You wanna join, or are you okay here?" Sashca shook herself out of her stupor and looked up at Kaminari, quickly sliding herself off of her stool and passing the last of her payment across to the bartender. She nodded and stretched outwards, cricking her neck slightly and looking at the door. "Yeah, sure. I like the sound of a walk. It's pretty hot." She laughed softly and turned to the door, waving to the bartender herself and pushing the door open with a yawn. The night air was cool on her face, and she turned around to walk backwards and ahead of her, watching the door and waiting for Kaminari to follow her out.

"So, a walk huh? What do you want to do, then? There ain't a great deal that ya can do in Seireitei this late at night," She chuckled, "I'd still like to get ideas myself, but that actually means I gotta fight someone. I get my best thinking done in combat." Her chuckled turned into a quiet laugh, and she spun around on her feet, trying to belay the fact that she was off her face. One could tell, by the rosy color on her cheeks.

"Why don't you tell me about yourself?" Sascha wasn't totally sure, but she felt like there was something different about the way Captain Hatakeyama spoke. There was a light waver to her vocal tones, as if she was nervous about doing this. Had Sascha made a mistake? She turned to look at the other Captain, giving her a soft and reassuring smile--one that said 'it's okay, you can relax'. "Besides your writing and love for fighting... Is there anything else one should know about you? Maybe something you'd like to share?" Sascha slowed her walking and watched Kaminari as she back-tracked. She placed a finger below her lip and thought for a second. Frankly, she should share something--it was the best thing to do. Not only that, but she had basically been given the worst possible scenario in this situation. Kaminari had shared something with her that could get them both in the shit. Sascha could easily lose her position for aiding and abetting, just as easily as Kaminari. But for some reason, she didn't seem to mind. Instead, she did a light pirouette, turning so that her back was to Kaminari once more. She walked in silence, thinking for a little bit as to what she could share.

"To be fair," she began, "my life is a little boring." She paused momentarily, trying to fit her thoughts into a proper place, "There really isn't much to say about me. I have no dreadful secrets that I know of, unless..." She slowed down her walking speed until she was right next to Kaminari and leaned in close to her ear, "I like girls, and I still sleep with my plush bunny." She reached up to pull her eyepatch up her face a little bit, before winking and giggling to Kaminari, quickly stepping away and spinning around once more, walking backwards but with both eyes available this time. Kaminari wouldn't know it--but very few people got to see both of Sascha's eyes. Very few people got to see the cute glimmer that shone over them--usually, those eyes would be hard and steely. But tonight, it seemed that the drink had loosened her up a little bit. She felt happy. Relaxed.

"What is your opinion on a leader's position with their subordinates? For example, I know that there have been Captains who treat their subordinates as just that, subordinates. It was an "I'm big, you're small" relationship. While there are other Captains that take a strict route, keeping them on a schedule. If you don't mind me asking... How do you run yours?" Sascha stopped her movements and tilted her head to the side, twisting her face into a thoughtful expression. She stood there for a few seconds, studying the expression of the other girl, before bringing up a hand and putting it over her mouth. The giggle that escaped her lips moments later was enough to let Kaminari know her response.

"Captain Hatakeyama... Is it alright if I call you Kaminari in private? You're more than welcome to call me Sascha," She lowered her hand to her side and smiled softly, "I'm a fighter, not a warlord. I treat my subordinates as I would treat any other person. Exactly the way that they treat me. I treat my fellow Captains much the same. Nobody is exempt from this." She smirked and spun around a little bit, the redness on her face a bit deeper. Her eyes sparkled in the moonlight as she stared back at Kaminari--she wasn't so sure that it was just alcohol reddening her cheeks. Not at this point. "Cap--Kaminari-s-san... could we... do this again some time? Without the issues... just... fun?" She let out a long breath, her face going into an even deeper shade of red. She was really glad that it was dark. You could say that she hadn't really had the chance to socialize with her other Captains like this... or anyone else, really. Normally she'd drink alone.

She was happy to be allowed to call Kaminari by her first name, at least when they were in private. She'd jump up in the air if she weren't drunk enough to fall over, but at the same time she was only wanting to jump up in the air because she was off-her-face drunk. It was an annoying balance. She also noticed that Kaminari was actually rather close to her; a by-product of her stumbling most likely. She peered with a smile into Kaminari's eyes, still having the eyepatch slid slightly up her face to show both of her large, quite pretty globes. She continued to slowly walk backwards, smiling softly and studying Kaminari's very pretty face with her own intrigued expression. "Sure, I wouldn't mind that. It's nice to have someone to talk to every now and then..." Her smile grew huge and she straightened up, spinning a little bit with a drunken giggle. "Just be careful. You're gonna end up losing your balance and falling if you're not careful, Capt-... Sascha." She laughed and shrugged it off, waving a hand as if saying 'oh I'll be fine'.

Damn you Murphy's Law.

Her body swayed, and her foot hooked up against a root that was sprawling across the path. She shouted out and fell backwards with a yelp--any other time, she would've been easily able to catch her balance. In this state, she fell to the ground and landed on her ass. She closed her eyes and made a quiet noise, rubbing her derrière and whining. She slowly looked up at Kaminari with a hurt expression.

"If you say 'told you so', I'm going to smite you." She pouted, before folding her arms and staring. She tried to get up, but made a pained sound and sat back down, rubbing her ankle, "I think I hurt my foot."

Well, wasn't this unexpected? Within moments, Sascha found herself staring into the other Captain's eyes, and for that moment that they shared Sascha saw beauty that she'd all but imagined up until then. Even through her drunkenness, Sascha found herself almost totally capable of comprehending that which she was seeing here and now. Her cheeks blushed a soft shade of red, but as she opened her mouth to make a cute comment, she was let go of to the ground. In her mind, she let go of herself and pushed her mouth up against Kaminari's. In her mind, she let herself go into bliss for those few seconds, even if she was likely to be pushed away. But her body knew better, and she went to ground.

"Here..." A hand was offered, and Sascha took it. She was slowly brought to her feet--putting less pressure on her injured right than her left--and nodded in thanks to Kaminari, "Let's get you back to your place... At least then you can rest your ankle." She nodded and leaned upon the other woman, grimacing quietly in pain as they started to move. Apparently, Kaminari was using Shunpo to get her back to her home. She kept pointing out directions to ensure that they were going in the right direction. The thing about Shunpo is that it's easy to keep talking, so Sascha did.

"Thank you, Kaminari," She leaned on her a bit more, huddling up as she felt the cold start to bite, "I wouldn't have made it back without you. I'm glad that I've got a new friend." She was babbling now, drunk, tired and cold. "An' y'er a big cutie too..." After that, she slurred down into a light doze. She would still point out directions, but she was pretty much out.