It's Been Awhile

Well... That was done with.

Kaimu let out a heavy breath as he walked along the streets of the Rukon, almost ready to head back home. He'd been out here to finish up cutting off his ties with the remaining black markets he'd bee affiliated with...

He had had brief discussions with all of them before, but today he'd come to completely finish things.

Luckily, he hadn't involved himself in horrible ones so he'd been able to tie up things rather neatly much to his relief.

Soon he could head home and relax...

Let's see.... Noodles.... onions.... mhmm.. mhm... Elly looked in the bag as she walked down the street, glancing up occasionally to make sure she didn't bump in to anyone. It looked like everything was in here... except.. hrm...

She looked up and quickly sidestepped around a pedestrian. Birgitte was off doing business... Elly had wanted to go with her to make sure it was safe, but she was just checking on food supply contracts.... and Elly didn't want to be too clingy...

So instead of going with her, she'd just have lunch ready for her when she got back. She wasn't an excellent cook, but she could make Ramen! It was hard to screw up Ramen!

But where... the HELL... was her FUCKING... CHOCOLATE. She dug through the bag more, rounding a corner of the street, head practically buried in the bag as she did so.

"Eehhh~ It was nice seeing you again as well, I'll try to stop by every now and then!" Kaimu gave a laugh, smiling brightly at someone who had stopped him as he waved them off.

It'd been one of the owners of one of the restaurants out here, they had great udon and he'd often stopped by when in this district. It'd been nice to run into them, though of course he wasn't here to stay much longer or anything.

He would be sure to visit from time to time though! After all he'd made a few nice acquaintances out here in his rogue days.

"Byeee~!" With one final wave, Kaimu continued walking, turning towards a corner without really looking ahead.

Elly was still trying to find her chocolate when she suddenly collided with something. Something tall firm and...uncomfortably sexy. "AHH!" she was knocked solidly onto the ground, her behind taking most of the brunt from the fall. She managed to drop the bag completely, though it didn't spill too much. Mostly wrapped things.

"I'm so sorry!" she said, trying to pick up her things. She got up to a crouch. "I was going through my bag and I wasn't looking where I was going and - EEEEEP!" She gave a long inhaling squeak of surprise and awkward terror when she looked up.

Oh no. No. Oh no no no.

A surprised noise escaped Kaimu as he slammed into something...or by the noise...someone. Just when he was about to blurt out an apology, his voice stopped as he realized...who that person was.

E-Elly!?

"A-A...Ahaaa, it's no problem! It was my fault!" He finally got out; "Don't worry about it, Elly; aha..."

This was...quite a surprise; he hadn't encountered her since...well when he'd still been a rogue.

Before he could ask any questions, he went about helping her pick up the few things she'd dropped, not wanting her to just remain on the ground like that. "Here... Sorry, I wasn't paying attention; it was my fault. Aha... It's been awhile. How've you been?"

She scrambled to her feet and quickly snatched the items he'd picked up, bleating a quick "thank you" for each one, before dropping them in her bag.

"Umm..." How had she been? She... How... What sort of question was that to ask? The last time she'd seen him... W-w-well... Her face began to glow and she looked away, blatantly covering her face. "I..."

"I'm... good? Umm... " Okay... no lies... lies were bad and she was bad at lying.. Mom had told her so... "W-well... I um.... I came to find you..." She said, crossing her arms.

"After um... Y'know..." She cleared her throat awkwardly.

Elly seemed...well very nervous; it was understandable though...this was quite the...awkward encounter considering last time they'd seen one another. They had been...contemplating things...and now after all of that time there had been...so much that had changed...at least for him.

"That's good, that's good." He answered, smiling at that response; she was doing well. Hn? "Me..."

He...was unsure of what that entailed...

"A lot of...things have changed since we last saw each other, Elly." He stated, his hand moving up to scratch the side of chin out of habit.

Why was this happening? Three. Exactly three people in ALL OF EXISTENCE she had slept with and one of the TWO she was not still sleeping with had just... run into her. And what's more..... They had been... w-well... they were supposed to...

Oh god... change? he had no idea... NO IDEA... "Y-...Yeah... Ummm..." Oh god... she was a monster... what if... oh god, what if he'd waited. Oh please, please let him not have been waiting...

"Um... s-so... if.. my memory serves me right... Ahhh..." She looked away, trying really hard to be casual. "We were... Supposed to... be entering a relationship. Ha... hahahaa..." The laughter was forced. Painfully so... "On account of the sex." Oh god. No. No mouth. Stop talking.

"Am I remembering right? Hehhh..." Why. Why was reality like this.

"A...Ah...Aha..." Kaimu gave a sheepish laugh, glancing off to the side for a moment; "R-Right...about that... I've actually... I was pardoned, and... I'm with...s-someone..."

It was...entirely awkward getting this out, they had...spoken about this but... This might not turn out well...but it was his job to explain what had happened on his side, explain his current standing. He was pardoned, and now with Lakshmi.

"I was...here cutting off ties with places..."

She just blinked, eyes fluttering emptily for a moment. "What?" She asked, a smile on her face though her expression read anything but pleasant. He was... with someone? Just like that? After what happened? .... Wow, what were the odds?

She crossed her arms. "You just.... You're with someone?..." She frowned a little deciding her own admissions could wait a moment. "Wh.. What about... I mean... How... How long did you wait before finding someone else? I looked for you, you know." That was... technically accurate... she looked for him the once and then when she did....

"H-How long? A-Ah, well... It had been awhile, we encountered one another a lot... I helped her with her own duties and such..."

He'd met Lakshmi sometime after he'd met Elly, not too long but not too short of a time in between either... Their relationship didn't happen until much later though...

"I...apologize for...causing you trouble, I know I was...hard to find back then..."

Hm.. So it had been a while.. and not just... oh god, had she just been a lay? No no no, stop thinking that. You of all people have no room to get upset at him, Elly Watson. She lectured herself for another few moments before letting her arms hang at her sides. "Ah.. Y...Y-yeah you sure did..." She looked up at him and then, rather suddenly, punched him in the arm.

"Do you have ANY idea what happened because I was looking for your sorry butt?!" She asked incredulously. Whole life shaking identity changes! Because HE couldn't learn how to use a phone!

Although... Really... if she had to be honest... she supposed that made her... REALLY happy he'd been so hard to find... She shivered a little at the thought that things could have been different..

"E-Eh!? I really am sorry!" Kaimu apologized, meaning it; he had waited...but eventually he just figured she wasn't going to show; he also did blame his hard-to-find-ness as well, but... He had waited! He had definitely waited a bit!

Unfortunately, he didn't get his phone until quite sometime after meeting Elly...and before he'd gotten with Lakshmi. Other than that...contact was near-impossible.

"Ah.. It's..." She looked at him, pouting. He looked really sorry. She looked away, feeling a sudden wave of shame and... No, she had to be honest, she didn't... regret it... that just made her more ashamed though. Ugggh.... The worst feeling...

"W-Well... Um.. things have changed for me lately too.." She cleared her throat and took a deep breath. This was already awkward to discuss, but with him of all people?

"I'm um.... I'm... TECHNICALLY..." she put so much emphasis on that word, "A lesbian now?"

Things had changed lately for Elly too... Kaimu was quiet, letting her speak as she wanted to; she still seemed...nervous above all... well, awkward. This was an awkward situation, definitely a very...very awkward situation...

She...

Eh?

So they...were both...in relation...ships...?

"A-Ah, I see! I-I'm happy for you...um... So you're with...someone as well...?" This...was what he assumed at least.

Her face was burning brighter and brighter. She awkwardly fidgeted, playing with her hair. "Umm.. Y-yes... I am with... SOMEONE... A mysterious... someone... definitely nobody you know. Hehhh.." She started twisting back and forth.

"D-Definitely not um... Lady Birgitte.. Hehhhhh..." The most sheepish laugh as, even more embarrassingly, Elly found herself suddenly smiling. She quickly corrected it to a pout.

"Umm B-b-b-but you understand, you have to, you've met her!" She took a step forward, already expecting him to react negatively. "Sh-She's irresistible to like.. anyone... I-I was looking for you and she found me and you must have had to deal with her charms at some point? S-So you know what she's like. It's not really my fault!" She pouted up at him, face red. How could anyone turn Birgitte down, after all?

L-Lady...Birgitte...aha...

Kaimu knew, Kaimu definitely knew her...knew her as well as the source of that nickname he'd never get rid of. Ever. Ginger...b... He would not think it! He was Kaimu! Kaimu! Kai! It was hard to accept the nickname as something nice...as it had a teasing edge to it too.

Weeeeh.

"I-I get it, I get it! You don't have to...get defensive; you're happy! That's what matters!" Kaimu smiled; "A-As for me... I'm with... Lakshmi, the... Captain of Fourth in...the Seireitei... Aha... I'm also working as her assistant in the division so... I'm technically...an official shinigami again..."

He had mentioned he'd been pardoned, but...

"I'm...happy now as well, I'm able to see my family now...and not have to hide and make it hard for them or friends to find me..."

It seemed...things had worked out for the both of them...

Elly looked up with pleading eyes and a pout, hoping he wouldn't be too mad. He definitely reacted to hearing it was Birgitte. But then... he just seemed.... relieved almost... So... so... he was with someone like... REALLY with someone.... and he was even a real shinigami again... that was...

"That's so cool! I'm actually an Espada now!" She felt strange saying it. Like a weird sense of Deja Vu.. but she hadn't been an Espada when she met him before, right? Weird... "I would show you my tattoo, th-though.." She blushed a little but smirked anyway. It was... less awkward... knowing they both had someone and were happy.

"Unfortunately for you, you won't be getting to see the location it's in any further." She knew he was hardly unfortunate if he was with someone and happy but.... a girl has to have a bit of pride every now and then... And he better still think she was attractive, even if he didn't want her persay.

"Uwaaa! That's really great news! Congrats!" An Espada now, if he remembered correctly she'd just been a normal arrancar at the time of their meeting... So she'd been promoted, that was great news indeed!

He gave a small chuckle at her remark about the tattoo, understanding why she couldn't show it. "That's alright, aha."

A lot of things definitely had changed...

"Th-Thanks! " She hopped up and down. It was still... weird... and awkward... but she was happy they were talking! She paused her hopping for a moment. She hadn't explained everything about her life though.

"Um...Y-Yeah... A-also Birgitte is.... wonderful. Uh..." She crossed her arms, looking away again. "I'm still not...entirely attracted to women... or ANY women besides her, but... I love her and we're sort of living together... She stays in the castle with me a lot.... A-and mom likes her! Oh um... Did.." Oh god... more confessions.

"Did I... ever tell you... that my mother is the Corona? Hehhh..." Another sheepish laugh.

Birgitte had moved on to live with Elly at her castle then... That was definitely something, hn...castle... W-Wait! Her mother was the Corona!? Kaimu seemed surprised to hear that, though he quickly attempted to regain his composure.

"Wooow! I had no idea!" He gave a laugh, a happy one; "That sounds...incredible really! The Corona's daughter..."

That hadn't been something he'd known...though... They were talking, it was good; they were getting onto a more normal way of conversation... Sharing things!

Hn...

"It's good to hear she likes her; it makes things a lot easier and happier for you." Kaimu smiled; "Hn... My daughter's dating Shirakwa...Fuuu..." He gave a fake pout, his typical whining when it came to Mia's relationship.

Of course, at least now Mia understood he wasn't serious about it.

"Y-Yes.... I suppose I am... technically... some sort of princess? But we don't really use those sorts of titles... I'm just her daughter... Uhh... adopted daughter... If you remember when we came to the human world to visit my family... they were just... never much of a family to me and she... IS... so..." She shrugged. She didn't want to get into a whole thing about it.

"Oh? That's rough. Wait... I don't know who Shirakawa is..." Wait.....

She punched him in the arm again, this time out of sheer surprise. "Y-YOU HAVE A DAUGHTER?!" She asked incredulously. ONE THAT'S OLD ENOUGH TO DATE?

"I see... At least...you have a good relationship with your adoptive mother then. She's family." Kaimu offered a warmer smile as he said this, though it was quickly wiped from his face as he was promptly punched in the arm.

A surprised noise escaped him at the punch, "E-Eh!? I-I... Well, yes, but-! I met her awhile back ago, I didn't even know about when we met... Lakshmi helped her find me... I'm glad I was able to meet her, she's the lieutenant of the the Tenth! A-Ah, and Shirakawa is the Captain of Sixth, sorry!"

Then a look came across Kaimu's face before he began rifling in his sleeve, pulling out his phone to bring up a picture. "Here!"

Her head was reeling. Oh god... this was so weird.... he seemed so young... stupid no aging spirit beings! She had figured he might be ancient but... having a kid? Ahhhh so much different. She placed her hands on her head and began turning, stumbling a little.

"Ahhh.. I.. I banged somebody's dad... that is so fricking Weeeirrrdd..." He pulled out the phone and she looked, suddenly giving out another cry. "Ahhhh... Sh... SHE'S OLDER THAN ME...." She sunk to the ground. "So gross... So grosss..." What if she met this girl? Oh my god, SHE WOULD KILL HER....

"E-Eh!? It's not that weird!" Kaimu was quick to defend himself. "I'm not old! I...I may be older than you, but-!"

He could see what she was thinking on her face; he was not old, damn it! Old was in the thousands! He was not in the thousands! He was young still, damn it! He had the looks of a man in his late twenties, he was still young!

"It's not gross!" Weeh...

Thank goodness he had mentioned nothing of his upcoming second child...