You Again [Rabirria]

[Smiley]

The warm sun had slipped behind the horizon a couple of hours ago. In its place, the silver moon had climbed onto its throne in the sky. Shadows hid from the pale light. A cool breeze swept the quiet city streets gently. It was Friday evening and in many places, the party was only getting started.

Relaxed footsteps tapped against the cool pavement. A fashionable, young man with a pompadour strutted along, whistling a carefree tune. His garishly colorful t-shirt was strategically a size too small to show off that he frequented the gym. Focused on the night of fun ahead of him, he was blissfully unaware of the grim shadow lurking right behind him.

Most mortals couldn’t see it, but a ghastly woman walked in the man’s shadow. With her dark dress and deathly pale visage, she looked like something that had crawled out of a gothic horror story. Her long, messy hair cascaded down her back and the thick bangs hung over her eyes like a veil. In short, she was a rather unsettling sight.

Shizu’s heart was beating so fast... Oh, well, she no longer had one, mind you, but her old heart would’ve been beating like a drum right now. This was her first real date with Shosuke. That was his name. Ahhh, Ishikawa Shosuke, an aspiring singer and the heartthrob of every young lady in the local night clubs. And he belonged to her now... Just thinking about it made the hollow hole in her chest skip a beat.

The lonely ghost was always so eager to accompany her beloved songbird on his nightly adventures. N-not that she was stalking him! This was a romantic moonlit walk... Where the other participant just didn’t know it...

By now, the stalker hopeless romantic knew her victim’s boyfriend’s schedule inside and out. First, he would grab a snack at the same vending machine along the way. Then he’d grab a couple of drinks at his favorite bar. Finally, he would sing karaoke until sunrise. Ah, the vending machine was just coming up and...

...Wait, who was that?

---

Post 1
freshstrawberries

[freshstrawberries]

"Well, I guess it was only a matter of time huh?"  A woman with shockingly pink hair said to herself as she stared forlornly at an empty stretch of wall along one of the streets of the city.  Once a vending machine had stood there, proud and replete with snacks.  Yet now it was gone, one could even see an outline on the wall where it's position had affected its coloration in relation to the rest.  "Is this what they call overfishing?" 

Well there was nothing for it, she'd just have to find another vending machine.  That would be sooooooooo hard.  The woman took off, vanishing from where she stood and rapidly moving through several streets, before, oh hey there was another one.  A sparkling vending machine, the little lights inside illuminating the multiple lovely treats on display. 

Someone was walking down the street towards her, but she didn't care, humans couldn't see her anyways.  "Hmhmhm, at long last my rival, we finally meet."  She said, staring at the machine as she reached to draw her blade.  To the banshee spectating...that thing's handle was as long as the blade itself.  A nagamaki, what some might call a sword-spear, if she knew it.  If not she was probably wondering why the hell the handle was that long.  "Prepare to die."  Then she suddenly swung the blade down sharp, smashing it directly into the glass of the vending machine, and then again and again, just smashing her zanpakuto in until the glass broke and shattered!

"Victory is mine, and thus so too the spoils of war."  This strange woman had a bag on her shoulder too, slung over her pretty pink coat, she was dressed awfully nicely for someone...breaking into a vending machine.  Given that Shizu's cute little boyfriend hadn't reacted at all until the vending machine's glass broke and clearly couldn't see her?  Well that gold edged mask covering half of the woman's face clearly wasn't for show, while she gleefully started pulling things out of the vending machine to stuff into her bag.

[Smiley]

Shizu stopped dead in her tracks. She had grown wary of beautiful strangers, especially ones dressed so fashionably. By comparison, she felt more and more like a mangy, stray cat... Upon seeing the peculiar spear, she felt only the slightest twinge of blade envy. Folding her arms, she averted her gaze. Hrm, well, her dear dagger was the perfect size for her use anyway... Didn’t need to be any bigger...

Something about the stranger felt oddly familiar, but the eerie Arrancar couldn’t quite put her finger on it... The nagging sensation persisted in the back of her head. Was it the mask? The weird weapon? Or the way her darling boyfriend seemed to completely ignore the woman, like he couldn’t even see her? All these things were adding up, swirling around her head like complex mathematical equations. And the result was-

-CRASH!-

The sound of shattering glass yanked the ghoul back into reality. Eyes widening, she gave the stranger a long, blank staaare. ‘What is that weirdo doing...?’ She couldn’t fathom why someone so flashy would bother looting a vending machine like some common hoodlum. Surely no one could be that hungry, could they?

However, the mortal didn’t much like the vending machine seemingly exploding in front of his eyes. He turned tail and ran at a pace that would’ve put many sprinters to shame. His singer’s lungs allowed him to curse loudly all the way. Turning the nearest corner, he vanished into the night.

Left aghast, Shizu feebly reached a hand after the fleeing man. “D-darling...! W-wait...!” Too late, the man was gone. Her hand and head drooped. Slowly, the pale fingers balled into a trembling fist. “Y-you scared him away...!” Shock soured into bitter fury. She aimed a glare at the thieving woman. All her anger distilled into the most devastating insult her mind could formulate. “You... You... Hooligan hussy!” ...She had never been good with words.

In a blur of motion and a booming sound familiar to all Arrancar, the ghastly woman seemed to vanish into thin air. Her Sonido had never been the fastest, but she got some decent distance out of it. She had to catch up with her beloved before he went and got lost... Or worse, ran into another woman.

---

Post 2
freshstrawberries

[freshstrawberries]

"Heeheehee~"  What a fantastic haul!  This vending machine had a ton of goodies in here!  Of course they all did, but she still remembered the time she'd just broken into a vending machine without checking what was in it and it was just a bunch of useless phones.  Something was going on to her left, but she didn't really care.  The humans couldn't see her anyways, they could panic, fight, get curious all they wanted but...

But she had kind of a weird, creepy feeling rolling down her back.  It was decidedly odd, Rabirria wasn't really the type to get the creeps and it compelled her to look over as a woman started shouting only to see.  "Huh?"  Just in time to see the girl vanish.  Was that another arrancar?  "Well that was weird."  The arrancar said aloud, before shrugging and continuing to load up her bag.  Whatever, wasn't her business how other people spent their time.

"Hooligan Hussy...I kinda like the sound of that.  Really needs another word for that proper alliterative feel."  She rubbed her mask thoughtfully as she slung her bag, now full and loaded with treats over a shoulder.  Then she shrugged, "Oh well!  Time for a beer run."  Just as the other girl had, she seemed to vanish from where she stood as she took off.

She knew just the bar too.

[Smiley]

A short while later downtown...

The fashionably garish young man stepped into an alley lit with colorful lights and neon signs. Having regained his confident stride, he made his way into a cozy, little drinking hole nestled between two towering buildings. Small and secluded, it was known for its great selection of imported drinks.

Cigarette smoke drifted in the air. The speakers played an endless stream of hits from several decades ago. Rowdy young men sat around small tables, downing drinks and laughing heartily. A lean bartender stood behind the counter, idly organizing a massive shelf of foreign bottles. There had to be dozens of them, light, strong and everything in-between.

In the man’s wake, the grim ghoul followed. She tailed her darling like a shadow. Those who weren’t absolutely roaring drunk shivered suddenly. There was a chill in the air. It felt like the temperature dropped several degrees in her presence.

Shizu stalked over to the other side of the bar counter. Her eyes twinkled like tiny stars, seeing nothing but the dreamy man taking a seat. “Ah, my darling... W-what would you like~?” She mumbled under her breath, trying her best to sound cheery and seductive. ...Even if no one could hear her. It was practice for when she brought him over to this side of the veil.

When the man motioned the actual bartender over and made his order, the ghoulish woman hurried over to the shelf. “C-coming right up, darling~” Of course, she already knew his favorite drink. Now where was that bottle...?

---

Post 3
freshstrawberries

[freshstrawberries]

It was a pretty swell find.  A quiet little drinking hole with a ton of imported drinks.  Of course that made them fairly expensive, but what did that matter when you weren't paying to begin with?  "Oiiii, bartender!  Get me a brandy!  Bartenderrrr!"  Over the conversation and bustle of the bar one person being impatient about getting served wasn't going to ring any alarm bells. 

Rabirria was sat at the bar a ways away from where Shizu's boyfriend had sat down.  Rabirria hadn't noticed, and was merely doing what she always did, goofing off. "Hey c'mon it's like you can't even see me!"  She complained as she slapped her hand on the bar, which caused the man next to her to start in surprise, unable to see what had done it.  "Ugh, fiiiiiine, I'll get it myself."  With that she hopped over the bar.  Her nagamaki was strapped to her back this time, but the edge of the sheath still caught someone's drink and knocked it over, causing them to curse in surprise.

The arrancar didn't pay any attention to it, as her hand reached up to grab a bottle off the shelf, the exact one that Shizu had been planning to grab, and just a bit too late.  Rabirria did notice someone else reaching for it though, turning to look at Shizu, eyebrows lifting in surprise.

If Shizu hadn't realized that this was a fellow arrancar yet, well she was clearly looking at her, and she could see Rabirria properly, no side profile.  There was a hole in her stomach, a small round black pit right around where the navel was meant to be, partially obscured by her large sash.  Well there was also the bartender gasping in surprise, backing up as he saw the bottle floating in mid-air, several other people at the bar noticing and crying out in surprise.  "Oh hey, fancy meeting you here." Rabirria said as if they weren't strangers who had seen each other exactly once.  "Oh I'm sorry, did you want some?"  She presented the bottle to Shizu, which caused the levitating bottle to move even more, getting even more reactions from the people at the bar.

[Smiley]

Ah, there! Fumbling fingers reached for the lonely bottle, the very last of its kind. Unfortunately, the gloomy Arrancar was too slow. The prize was swiped right under her nose. “W-wait, that’s...!” The quiet protest died on her lips, when she found the culprit. She blinked slowly.

Once.

Twice...

Then, the recognition struck like a wildly bouncing dodgeball. Right in the face. Now, Shizu wasn’t the type to hold grudges. She mostly wanted to ask ‘what are you doing here’ or any other variation of that. However, what came out instead was a meek squeak. “Y-yes... Thank you...” She went to quickly snatch the bottle, like it was some precious treasure.

Unfortunately, haste had this nasty habit of also making waste. As the gloomy woman took a step back, she stepped on a puddle of booze. Now who could’ve spilled a drink so carelessly? All it took was one slip and... Bye bye, balance~! She went stumbling backwards, right into the bartender.

Meanwhile, the mortal patrons only saw the bartender suddenly get slammed against the wall, as if tackled by an invisible force. The impact shook the whole bar. Likewise, the floating bottle shattered against the floor. Gin and glass shards sprayed all over the place. And it was only the opening shock. Unseen hands flailed desperately, trying to grab onto something. Anything. Unfortunately, they grabbed a finely aged shelf loaded with finely aged drinks. There was a painful creak.

“Eep...”

Like a row of teetering dominoes, the bottles fell in a beautiful sequence. Gravity took hold and smashed them against the floor one after another. The petrified ghost got utterly soaked in the alcoholic shower. Her daringly dressed spirit world... friend? Colleague? Alcohol-thieving accomplice faced the same fate, if she didn’t move quickly.

---

Post 4
freshstrawberries

[freshstrawberries]

Oh it was an absolute disaster!  Rabirria wasn't a spiteful or selfish soul, and handing over a bottle that someone else wanted was easy.  She was planning to share most of this anyways.  Yet alas, her earlier carelessness had unforeseen consequences as poor Shizu slipped, and slammed right into the bartender.  A chorus of horrified gasps and yells came from those at the bar, drawing the interest and confusion of those beyond who hadn't been able to easily see. 

The entire shelf of alcohol came down as Rabirria's eyes widened, it was like time went slow.  All that precious alcohol falling through the air as she cried out, "Nnnnnoooo!"  Her hands flew out trying to grab the alcohol, and she did actually snag one bottle...but plenty more were going to crash around her, and on her.

Anyone at the bar not yet ready to flee in fear would be pushed over that edge.  Bottles smashed, and alcohol poured over her silhouette, revealing an invisible, humanoid figure, and people started booking it for the doors.  It would be pretty surprising if Shizu's boyfriend wasn't among them.  Rabirria though only had eyes for all the broken bottles of alcohol, wiping a non-existent tear out of her eye as she sniffed.

"Such a terrible shame, all these precious liquids, wasted on the uncaring, unthirsty floor."

[Smiley]

Like a clock with its gears stuck, Shizu’s mind took a moment to catch up with what just happened. Tick, tick, tick, the clock hands refused to move. A horrific crunch echoed between her ears, when the weight of the realization finally kicked the mechanism back to life. Okay, maybe all of that was just in her imagination, but the shock was nevertheless all too real.

Slowly, the horrified ghoul looked down at her soaked garb, dripping with a cocktail that could’ve gotten a hundred men drunk. Her clothes clung to her figure. A little less was left to imagination now. On the outside, she was serene like a freshly perished corpse. Internally, she was screaming.

Shizu’s gaze twitched upwards, finding the mysterious woman lamenting the loss of all this elixir of life. “I-I’m s-s-sorry...” She stuttered meekly. Shame burned like hot coals on her features. Her head whipped around, twisting at a freaky angle. Was her boyfriend okay? Where was he...?

Gone.

He was gone.

Suddenly, the gloomy Arrancar’s aura flared. The supernatural chill lingering around her grew stronger. It felt like there was something sinister lurking in every shadow... She grasped her hair, tugging at it as if she might accidentally tear it off. “He ran off... He left me again...” Muttering frantically beneath her breath, she sprung up from the floor. In a quiet sonic boom, she disappeared. Droplets of booze marked a trail on the floor.

If the lovelorn woman knew her darling -and she absolutely did-, then she might find him at that karaoke place. It was her last shot to confess tonight. She wasn’t sure why, but... Somehow she felt that if she failed to confess tonight, she would never confess...

---

Post 5
freshstrawberries

[freshstrawberries]

"Huh?"  The arrancar looked up towards her fellow as she was spoken to. "Oh it's not actually that big of a deal I'm just...annnnnd she's gone."  Tsk, what the hell had she been doing here anyways?  It sure was strange that they'd run into each other twice like that.  Eh, probably just a coincidence, life sure could be funny that way huh?

Life, hah.

"Still damn, losing all that booze sure was a bummer, I need to lift my spirits, and I know just the thing, but first..."

She was going to leave the bar herself.  Shizu would have time to catch up with her boyfriend, while Rabirria, was heading to a river in the city and diving straight in.  Alcohol wasn't too hard to get off at least, just jump into a water source and spin around fast enough. The scent would have given her away after all.  Then, out of the water, sonido hiiiigh into the air, and spin really fast until you hit the ground with an impact that should  have broken ribs and voile.  Rabirria wasn't exactly clean, but she didn't stink of alcohol, just with some colorful stains in that light pink fabric she was sporting.

It only took a couple minutes, and then she was heading off again, to a lovely little karoake joint nearby.  At this time of evening on this day of the week she expected to see plenty of groups going in.  She just had to slip in with one of them, the arrancar arriving in front of the building, casually waiting for someone to come and open the doors so she could quickly slip past them while it was still open.

[Smiley]

Hollow minds thought alike. After a quick dip in the nearest fountain, Shizu was left dripping water rather than booze. It washed off most of the stench. She didn’t mind the cool night air biting into her. After her death, it had started feeling rather pleasant. It wasn’t like she could catch a cold anymore anyway.

Running through the streets, over the rooftops and across thin air, the creepy stalker dedicated girlfriend soon caught up to her hapless victim darling boyfriend again. She could sense his presence whenever she closed her eyes. Hope blossomed in the hole where her heart had once been. Just by being near him made her feel a little less empty. This time the confession would make her complete again. Yes, this time for sure...

People were creatures of habit. Shizu’s prey sweetheart was no different. Despite everything that had happened tonight, the man was determined to forget it all in a nearby karaoke joint. It was his regular haunt after all. And she had spent many nights listening to his dulcet tones.

The door opened and muffled music leaked out to the street. Trailing closely behind the man, the ghoulish woman slipped inside. This was it. Her final chance. She was still on the edge due to those weird coincidences with that flashy stranger. ...So imagine her utter shock and horror when that very same soul waltzed in as well.

While the man and his friends went to reserve a room, Shizu stared in disbelief at the fellow Arrancar. Countless questions sparked in her mind, starting with ‘why’ and kind of going downhill on the paranoia slope from there. As soon as the initial shock subsided, she blurted out the first thing that sprung to mind. “You again???” It was good that no one here could hear them, because she was definitely making a scene.

---

Post 6
freshstrawberries

[freshstrawberries]

Ah fantastic!  Rabirria didn't even have to wait that long before a group showed up to head inside.  Her eyes lifted in the way they did when someone was smirking, but alas, the grinning skull dominating the lower half didn't change and...she quickly slipped past them and into the building.  "Mission success!  Colonel, I've infiltrated the- huh?"

Rabirria stopped her indulgent nonsense (she'd even lifted a finger to the side of her head as if she had an earpiece) as she realized someone was looking directly at her, and there was a weird, creepy feeling in the air.  A very familiar creepy feeling. "Oh, hey, fancy meeting you here."  The arrancar said to the arrancar.  Well this was just weird, hell of a coincidence wasn't it?

Of course as she thought that, something else extremely funny sprang to Rabirria's mind, and being a clueless and relaxed sort, she felt it was too funny not to vocalize.  Her eyes took a sly slant as her body shifted, one hand on her hip, the other loosely pointing towards her as she said.  "Heyyyy, you're not stalking me are you?"

[Smiley]

In stark contrast to the fancy girl’s carefree attitude, the gloomy ghoul was coming apart at the seams. Her hair was bristling like the fur of an animal. An awkward twitch tugged at her right eye. Her eerie aura grew stronger. There was a chill in the air...

The stalking accusation struck like a sledgehammer. Something shattered. Oh, it was probably just Shizu’s nerves. Eyes going wide and hands flailing defensively, she recoiled. “I-I’m not stalking you...!” She blurted, with very odd emphasis on the last word.

As soon as the realization fully sank in, the stalker hurried to correct herself. “A-and it’s not stalking, it’s a romantic date...!” Slowly, her gaze dropped to the floor. Awkwardly she prodded her index fingers together. “My d-date just... doesn’t know it yet...” Nope, her mumbling didn’t sound exactly convincing.

Stealing a glance at the garishly dressed man, the lovestruck ghost let out a wistful sigh. Her attention returned to the stranger. “B-besides, you’re the one following me.” She insisted, living in her own little misunderstanding. “First the vending machine, then the bar and now here...” Three times in the same night was a little too much for a coincidence. It felt like some higher power was bringing them together... And laughing at the chaos...

Suddenly, a deep worry seeped like venom into Shizu’s mind. Wait... That outfit... And the shining confidence... She had read about this in romance novels! This was... A rival in love! “A-are you trying to seduce my man...? Steal him from me...? I...” She took out her small, dark dagger, brandishing it like a kitchen knife. “I won’t let you.” Despite her grim tone, she was about as threatening as a mangy cat.

---

Post 7
freshstrawberries

[freshstrawberries]

The response she got from this strange girl was surprising to say the least.  Rabirria had been making a joke, but the woman took it extremely seriously, and what was with that emphasis?  Rabirria had her hands on her hips as she looked at the girl quizzically an eyebrow raised.  Then she followed Shizu's quick glance towards...oh yeah she saw him at the vending machine.  Had he been at the bar too?  Must have been given this woman's...proclivities? 

Normally she would have had a response to the comment about following people, but she was walking over towards Shizu's 'boyfriend' and his pals, nearly finishing paying for their room.  She'd step up to the side, not touching any of them, and wave a hand in front of mister pompadour's face.  She'd even snap her fingers, before stepping away, hands going back to her hips as she looked at Shizu, blade drawn.

There wasn't even a hint of alarm on Rabirria's face, she didn't seem to care in the slightest.  "I hate to break it to you sister, but I don't think he can see us."  Oh, oh that was a terrible idea.  She had to do it.  "I think I know a way to fix that though."  As she said that last sentence, one hand rested on the extremely long handle of her nagamaki, resting on her hip, and started to draw...

[Smiley]

The gloomy woman recoiled from the armor-piercing observation. “I-I know that!” She squeaked. Her posture deflated and the knife drooped towards the floor. “I know that...” Nothing could hurt her more than being invisible to the one she loved... And she wasn’t even being metaphorical! Ever since her death, everyone just looked right through her. Exceptions were agonizingly rare.

So, when the stranger suggested a solution, the lovelorn woman perked up immediately. “Truly? Do you have some manner of special spell?” She sheathed her weapon and slipped it back into her large sleeve. “P-please, do tell. I’m willing to try anything.” Carefully she circled closer, studying the unfolding technique closely. Maybe she could learn it too...?

Inside Shizu’s head, her common sense was screaming at her to stop the stranger. It recalled vividly what that weapon had done to the vending machine. However, her desperation quickly smothered the voice of reason with a pillow. It wanted to see where the stranger was going with this... If there was even the slightest chance this might work, then she was willing to gamble.

Swept away by the music blasted by the speakers, the humans sang without a care in the world. They were blissfully blind and deaf to the imminent doom looming over them.

---

Post 8
freshstrawberries