Mourning Rain and a Good Meal [Closed]

"Manae..." His body was kneeled before the headstone, head down and staring at the name chiseled into the rough-hewn stone. His body shook in the cold of the evening, and raindrops were falling onto his neck and down to his back. There was no body in the grave--they had not found a body, so there wasn't even a confirmation that Manae was dead. Yet Daigoro knew not to cling to false hope. There was no chance that she was alive--he had watched the creature snap her neck. It had been over for him from that moment, and he knew not what he could do now. Here he was, still hung up over the death of this woman. Still stuck in blaming himself for not being able to save her. Still unsure if he could protect himself--or anyone else, for that matter. He bit his bottom lip and sucked in a deep breath, running a finger over the cracks and crevices of the sign, staring at it for a few more seconds as if something were going to change just by his watching it. "Manae... I don't know what I can do. I can work on my day-to-day life, but it doesn't feel right. I miss you, and I should try to stop. But I don't know how. I... can't seem to quit these thoughts." He let out a long breath and got to his feet, flicking the umbrella up on top of his shoulder and opening it up. It made a strange metallic noise as it opened, but it still shielded him from the rain. His black Shinigami uniform was soaked through, and he felt it in his bones. Turning away from the grave, he let out another long breath and started to wander back towards the Rukongai. He required sustenance of some kind--preferably something hot. Therefore, he said a mental goodbye to his lost love and made his way through the rain.

After about five minutes of walking, he made it into one of the richer districts of Rukongai. It was here that he'd discovered a small tavern. It wasn't particularly out-of-the-way, but it certainly wasn't in plain sight, either. He found his peace here, as well as some bloody good food and drink. Walking through the door, he immediately felt the warmth wash over his body, drying him out a little already. The umbrella was closed and flicked to his side, the water on it dissipating without question. A man behind the counter turned, and recognizing the customer, waved out to him and motioned towards the bar. "Usual, Dai." He smiled and nodded, putting the umbrella on his waist and taking a seat, looking at the wooden finish of the bar and closing his eyes momentarily. They were opened again to the sound of a plate and mug being placed upon the surface, and when he looked he could see what would be called his 'usual'. While he was Japanese in descent, there were a few Western dishes that he had tried and fallen in love with--this one, specifically, was only found in this particular tavern. It was known as 'Eggs Benedict', a couple of pieces of sourbread, toasted and topped with egg, spinach and salmon. The mug beside it had a particularly interesting brew of beer that he'd only ever found in this tavern. Apparently the bartender brewed it himself. He looked up to the bartender and then around behind himself, seeing that he was alone in this place--save for the staff. "Slow day, Mac?" The tender, known now as Mac, just grunted. Dai chuckled quietly and dug in, dropping a few coins onto the bar and getting another grunt from Mac. Yeah, yeah.

As engrossed in his food as he was, he really didn't notice much of his surroundings at the time. Instead, all he really heard was the clinking of metallic utensils against a ceramic plate, cutting up the bread and salmon and eggs and putting them into his mouth. After a few good mouthfuls were swallowed, he reached over and picked up the mug of beer, letting the liquid slide down his throat and refresh him, breathing out and letting a soft smile cross his face. It was times like this that he really appreciated--nothing to remind him of bad times, just moments where he could peacefully eat and let his mind rest. The sound of falling rain pitter-pattered upon the roof of the building, creating a soft melody in the background. He let out a long breath, finally noticing that there was another person making their way over to sit beside him. Normally, he would've shied away--but he immediately recognized the short woman, with brown hair and soft features. It wasn't too often that one of the Captains approached him, though this one he expected. "Aye-ya. Today, of all days?" "Hey, Ito." He sighed softly, not really making too many sudden movements. He would still continue to slowly eat and drink, having a little bit more of his fill before finally responding to her with a soft, weak smile. "Hey, Kaminari. Been what, six months now? How're you?"

"What are you doing way out here?" He raised an eyebrow and turned back to his food, continuing to eat it until the plate was finally empty. He carefully and deliberately placed both utensils down beside each other and pushed the plate aside--Mac would quickly pick it up and take it away. There were a few reasons he came to this pub. Mcanally's Pub was one of the few spiritually-neutral places in the Soul Society. While most other places would show off power without any rhyme or reason, this place was designed to filter spiritual power and create a hum of atmosphere that equalized the feeling that everyone gave off. While each person still had a unique aura, there were no more auras that were, to say the least, overpowering. He let out a long breath and finally spoke again, "You've known me long enough to know why I'd be out here, on today of all days. It's been fifteen years. Figured I'd at least visit her." He smiled softly, shaking his head, "It's probably time for me to get over her, but I haven't figured out how to yet."

"Bartender... If you don't mind... make me something nice. I don't care what it is, just something." Mac grunted, and Dai raised his head a little, "Oi, Mac. Put it on my tab. Get her one of the brews." He grunted again, almost in affirmation, and then brought back two large steins with the liquid inside. When she first took a drink, Kaminari would note it to not be chilled at all, and seem to taste better for it. "On the house. You know why." Mac had been good to him. Even if he spoke almost no words, he still listened when Dai needed an ear. And sometimes, that was all a man needed. When he had given himself a couple of seconds to collect himself, he turned towards Kaminari and gave her a soft, if worried, smile.

"You... sought me out for a reason, didn't you? It would've been easy enough for you to come to find me at the Seventh Barracks if you wanted to catch up. Six months doesn't exactly harm a friendship. So... what's the story?" He sighed softly, looking at her with an expression of worry that had left his mouth and moved completely to his face. He was confused, worried, but also a little glad to see another friendly face.

Apparently things were really not going that well, as Dai watched Kaminari down two drinks in the space of thirty seconds. He scratched the back of his head, looking down at the bar as his eyes wandered towards the file that she had at her side. He was curious as to what it was, and he assumed that it involved whatever Kaminari was coming to tell him about. "Captain Koenig was hurt." He frowned a little; he'd heard stories about Captain Koenig that involved her being a damn good fighter in general, so just hearing that a Captain was hurt in something already worried him. However, he wasn't exactly sure why it would involve him. He was generally just a third seat--nothing new, nothing special. We were fooled into entering the far end of the Rukongai, just outside the town by an Arrancar." He tilted his head to the side and looked at her a bit more intently, realizing now that she was avoiding his gaze. "Kaminari..." She was looking at the other customers behind her now, still trying to avoid him. This was, above all else, a rather worrying thing. He sighed softly and looked back at his own drink, lifting it up to his lips and downing the last of it.

"The Arrancar was a woman... with the name Lasciel. Do you recognize it?" He opened one eye and put the stein down, frowning intently. "Barely. That was a name that the Espada who killed my wife said once or twice. Probably his Fraccion." Shaking his head a bit, he tapped the table. "Never saw her face, though. Wh--" He was interrupted by her sliding the file over in front of him. His eyes narrowed as he recognized the name, and he turned towards Kaminari, ready to shout--but then took his time to slow down. "You come to me, on the anniversary of my wife's death, and ask me about a woman who may have her face? They never found Manae's body, you know." He sighed, looking at the file with a frustrated expression. "You had my interest, and now you have my attention. You think they're here after me, do you?"

"I do." Well, it was official. Today had not only taken a turn for the worse, it had also become one of those days that Dai really had wished he'd never woken up for. Taking another long swig of beer from the next stein he was handed, Daigoro decided to take about fifteen seconds to let things sink in. As far as he knew right now, there was an Arrancar by the name of Lasciel in the Soul Society. This much was true. However, according to Kaminari, her face was the face of his late wife, Manae. If this itself was true, then things were a bit more than worrisome. At this point in time, there were two possibilities. His wife was dead and this woman was just wearing her face, or this woman was his actual wife, in some way or another. "She lured two Captains out to the Rukongai and gave us her name. There was no way she felt she could fight both of us; that would have been a stupid idea." He nodded, still listening and thinking about the situation. "No point in fighting two Captains at once. However, no point in revealing yourself to one Captain either. It's easy enough to make up a tale if you're alone, not as easy when you have another witness to back up your story. She chose well." He rubbed his temples lightly, shaking his head.

It was a lot to take in, to be fair. He wasn't sure if he was even awake right now--for all he knew, he could be in some sadistic dream that his brain made up specifically to fuck with him. It'd be nice if that were the case, unfortunately. Instead, however, he had to deal with the fact that this was true, and happening right now. Right now there was a woman running around with his late wife's face. Right now there was a possible attack on the Soul Society being planned. This woman wanted him to know that she was in town--and for what reason? She wanted us to spread her name... She wanted to catch your attention, so I thought it'd be smarter if you heard it from me, not from someone else." He frowned more, nodding in response. "Yeah, I get you. Thanks... better that I be told, rather than simply finding out about her. It poses the question, though. Why would this woman take Manae's face? More specifically, I suppose, why would she come after me?" He spun on his chair, finally looking over at Kaminari and tilting his head to the side. "Even more so--why would she choose you? What memories does that woman have?"

Her words irritated him. He wasn't specifically irritated with her, perse, it was just a bit overwhelming for him right now. To say the least, he was sitting here wanting to lash out at something in the hopes that maybe it'd wake him up from this feeling. Instead, he was left watching his own cup and wondering what he had done to deserve such a fate. "You don't know?" He tilted his head, looking back at her with an expression of worry. "The fact that she was desparate enough to find you to get the attention of a Captain shows that there is something there..." His expression turned into a frown, and he tapped the table with impatient fingers. "Are you sure you don't remember? I hate to bring it up on this day of all days, but what happened back then?" He breathed out and closed his eyes.

"I've said it before, I'll say it again. I have no memories of that day after the moment that Manae died. I simply know that the Arrancar was killed after I went unconscious, so I really don't know why this 'Lasciel' person would be coming after me. If anything, she should be going after the person who killed her Espada, right?" He furrowed his brow, shaking his head and sighing softly. Apparently, Kaminari was done, as she put down the cup and got to her feet, letting Mac know that she was done. "I'm sorry to drop all of this on you, drink, and run, but it needed to be done. Stop avoiding people, damn it. Only reason I was able to find you is because you never miss a year." His mouth curled up a little, but he just nodded as he felt a hand on his shoulder. "I'll be seeing you." As her hand left his back, he felt himself stumble a little and turned around, reaching out and calling to her.

"Kaminari," Whether or not she turned around to reply, he would finish speaking anyway, "Thank you, really. For bringing this to my attention. It would've been more painful if I hadn't heard it from you." He smiled softly and her and turned back to the bar, listening to her close the door behind her. He sighed softly, tapping the bar again and looking at Mac. "I'd stop avoiding people, but there's only one or two people not worth avoiding right now." He looked over at the rest of the patrons, shaking his head. "Sorta wish there were more, y'know?"

{Conditional Closure; If someone wants to join, they are welcome to.}