Fresh Ingredients

“Hmm, I see. Well either way, I’m sure that the two of us are bound to find something eventually!” Bart said reassuringly. Even if there weren’t any in this particular room, there was bound to be some records of some kind around the tower. After all, Sarai did have a record player in this room, and playing records was what record players were all about!

Hmm, sold as collectables? You mean people would purchase them for reasons other than playing them? How quaint! Or maybe they’re just building up a collection so that when they do get a player they’ll have a ton of music to listen to! That definitely made a lot more sense to Bart, so he chose to believe that.

But for now he had a shiny new record player of his own to take care of, and from experience he knew that they wouldn’t play quite the same if it was dropped by say, a fresh Espada getting a bit too excited and running straight into a wall while holding it. So now the next mission was underway!

“Say, Luca? I appreciate your help with all this, but do you think that you could perhaps show me to my room or something for a moment? It’d be safer for me to put this fantastic little player down for the moment while we go look for everything else, I wouldn’t want to run the risk of breaking it after all the work we put into tracking one down finally. And especially not break it before I even have the chance to play something on it for the first time!” Bart grinned warmly up at Luca and nodded, trusting that the older Espada would understand his query.

Yes, they were bound to find something eventually... Luca felt that as well as Bart reassured him; there was still a lot to look around at, and a record player could not play anything without the records...so there had to be some around somewhere.

"Of course." Luca answered, giving a small nod at Bart's question; he would show the man to his room to put the record player away safely.

Having been asked that, he turned and began walking towards the door, though was sure to wait for the man to keep up with him. Bart was right, it would be unfortunate to drop it and possibly break it before even having a chance to listen to it...

It was best to put it away safely then.

Bart returned Luca’s nod with one of his own as he began to slowly follow behind the senior Espada member at a much slower pace once again. It wasn’t so much that he had forgotten how to maintain a normal pace yet again, but with such a precious gift now in his hands he certainly didn’t want to end up breaking it in the process of moving it to another room.

“So Sarai mentioned that a bunch of Arrancar live right here in the tower, and then some of them have their own homes outside of here as well! I kinda don’t know which one would be better, honestly; I’ve been so used to living in the same house with my relatives and everything that being in a home all by myself seems a bit intimidating.” Bart said brightly as he followed Luca down the lengthy hallways of the Tower that he was slowly getting used to.

“But then again, being given my own place to live would be quite fascinating as well! Especially if I don’t know exactly what I’d be getting! It’d be sort of like a present or something.” He chuckled brightly as he adjusted the record player a bit more in his arms to get a better grip on it. “How about yourself, Luca? Do you live here or elsewhere?”

Luca answered Bart's question with a silent nod as they walked, Luca keeping his pace a bit slow so the other man could keep up as he carefully walked with the record player.

"Yes, most...of them live outside of the tower, in their own domains. Currently, I'm in the process of moving myself. I'll soon have my own domain, but for now I'm staying here..."

His lands were currently still in development, but once they were settled he would move his things there. As he'd said though, for now...he was living here in the tower.

"If you have your own domain, you'd still be able to easily come here...and with your own domain you could dedicate it to whatever you'd prefer...you enjoy cooking so... With your own domain you may have more room to do whatever type of cooking you'd like..."

“Oh really? With a tower this big, I was figuring that everyone could still fit in here and have plenty of room to themselves!” They had passed tons of doors as they made their way from place to place, so it only made sense to him that people’s own rooms would be behind some of them. Or maybe Luca meant the Espada only? Hmm… There were the assistants Sarai had back at the bath, perhaps they were the ones that lived in the tower?

Bart’s train of thought was soon derailed however by the news that Luca was also in the process of moving out as well! “Well that’s wonderful! I’m glad to hear that you’re getting your own domain thing, Mister Luca!” He said with a bright, sunny smile. I’m sure that you’ll enjoy having your own… house, I assume? Or is it something like your own tower like the one we’re living in?”

And Bart could get his own domain as well? Well that was even better! But of course he was already overwhelmed with Sarai’s kindness of just letting him stay here in the Tower, a whole new home on top of that would just be… magnificent! “Goodness, dedicating an entire domain thing to whatever you like? Why, I could make the entire place a giant kitchen… with its own grocer built in or something! That would save so much time! Ohh, but then I’d miss running to the grocer in town and greeting everyone there, huh? Decision, decisions…” This really is a lot to take in all at once, it’s fantastic!

The tower certainly was large, and could likely fit all of them, but their own domains would allow them to have more room than they would have here...even if the room they had here was large...

It was more convient for all of them with their own domains.

"It should be ready for me in a couple of months time...it will be much larger than a house though, but not a tower... I need room from my instruments, an area to play them...as well as an area dedicated to my work as an Espada...along with my on sleeping quarters..."

And more... It was going to be quite large for just one person, but it would be fine.

Bart seemed excited about the idea of his own eventual domain as well, and as he said... He could make it one giant kitchen if he so preferred. If he wanted the room to prepare meals and cook, that most certainly wouldn't be a problem...

“A couple of months, huh? Well I suppose that does give you plenty of time to decide on how you want to arrange everything, I suppose!” Bart said happily. “But goodness, if I had something like that to myself, I probably wouldn’t know what to do with all the space!” He chuckled softly as he looked down at the record player that he cradled in his arms.

Maybe… some kind of dance floor or something? Like the one I had back in Germany, with plenty of room for all my guests and friends to dance as well! It would certainly be a start. Let’s see: Kitchen, dance floor… What else could I need in a home?

“Ooh that’s right, you’re the Doctor Espada sort of thing, right Luca? Does that mean your domain would have a hospital or something like it as well? A musician doctor’s home really does sound like it would be quite the wonderful place to visit!” Why, he’d be able to play music for you while he was bandaging you up from your little accidents and whatnot! The more Bart thought about it, the more that it seemed like an even more fantastic idea!

Bart began chuckling brightly to himself as the two continued to walk through the hallways. Why, by that logic I’d be giving the people that visit my place dinner and a show! I think I could start getting used to this whole ‘having a domain’ thing eventually!

Bart was right, it gave him plenty of time to decide on what all he wanted and needed for his lands. He had already listed the necessities, really... It was likely best he have a bath of his own there, even if smaller just in case Selena visited...

That way there would be no nervousness when it came to the possiblity of encountering other arrancar within the baths...it would be a personal one where there would be no worries or fear of that...

The domain would be large enough for him to have a nice view of the moon as well...

At the Espada's question, Luca gave another nod; "Yes, the first area one would enter would be that..."

The first floor would be for business, where others would enter... Anything higher would be mostly for himself or Nuu...

"Well it sounds like you've gotten your ducks all in a row now, don't you?" Bart grinned wide as he addressed Luca, glad to see that they shared the same kinds of ideas when it came to helping people out. It just turned out that Luca helped in his own special way, especially with healing in the more physical sense.

After the brief walk that the two Espada took for the instrument storage room, they eventually found themselves at the door to Bart's own quarters at last. "Ahh, home sweet home! Thanks for helping me find my way, Luca!" Bart said brightly as he nudged the door open with his foot, having both of his hands taken up by the record player. "Now all I have to do is just store this somewhere safe and we'll be good to go for finding some records for it to play!"

He left the door open as he stepped inside, choosing to set it down on the nearest table to the door as he looked back out to Luca. "Oh, feel free to take a step inside if you'd like! I don't really have anything to look at, other than the wonderful decorations that already came with the room, but I wouldn't turn away a guest into my own room, after all!"

"Yes..." Luca gave a nod, though he'd never heard that phrasing before...at least it was understandable, he'd been able to decipher it. His ducks all in a row...meaning he had everything settled. He did, and he was relieved to.

He walked with Bart until they reached another room, Bart's own quarters where the record player could be placed to sit safely. Records would be found next, the man was right...

Luca waited a moment, only stepping inside once the new Espada had given him permission to do so before shaking his head; "It's alright..."

The room was already somewhat decorated, which was nice... Bart didn't seem like the type that would enjoy simple, blank walls. Or at least, that's how Luca saw it anyway... He could always be wrong, and perhaps it was wrong to jump to such a conclusion... Hm...

The room was nice though, as expected; he was confident that Bart would get accustomed to this living space in time.

Bart gazed happily down at the record player, assuring it was placed properly in the room for maximum sound coverage and also making sure it fit with the other decorations that were already in the room when he found it. In his life, Bart really didn’t have many decorations for his room Or any real dressings for it all, especially for his last home. All he had to his name was his suitcase full of clothes and a blanket for the night, but it wasn’t like he minded it all either. He only really spent time in his room when he went to sleep; otherwise he was in the kitchen or living room!

But it seems like Sarai decorates rooms even if she doesn’t live in them as well! The newest Espada thought happily as he surveyed the rest of the room. There were the normal trappings that most rooms had: a bed, drawers for clothes, all those sorts of things. But then there were the little touches of things that… certainly weren’t in a normal human house. But that all just made it seem so much homier to Bart!

“Sarai really goes all out in a lot of things, doesn’t she?” Bart said brightly as he turned back to look at Luca. He was glad to have the polite, if a little on the quiet side, fellow Espada be his first guest to his personal quarters, even if he didn’t have much to offer in terms of entertainment. Well, until they got back with all their records, that was! “I’ll definitely have to be sure to thank her as soon as I see her again! But for now, we should probably get some music for my shiny new record player, huh?” He smiled even brighter as Luca as he quickly walked out the door and back into the hallway. “We better be on our way then, Luca! There isn’t a minute to lose!”

"She does... The rooms, even the unoccupied ones are all rather thoroughly decorated..." Perhaps it just felt odd to have them empty? Blank rooms could be unsettling...or lonesome, but he wasn't the Corona...so therefore he could not answer why most of the rooms were decorated in certainty.

Well, Bart at least had a safe place to keep the record player now, perhaps he could find a shelf to use to store away all the records...?

It would certainly be convenient.

As Bart brought up the previously thought of records Luca gave another small nod; "Right, once we find them they'll be right at home here with someone to enjoy them..."

Yes, they would find the records and they would have a proper home here with Bart where they could be used as meant to be.