Conri didn't say a word on the walk back to his quarters but his thoughts ran rampant about those that he met that day in the world on the living. A girl that he once saved, a arrancar with no evil attentions as far as he knew, and a mute boy. Then there was that other boy. All of those so close to the spiritual world in one place isn't never good. That is a sign of something bad to come and he had no clue when, where, or what would even come. But this was a better lead then any he had to finding Ajit, the hollow that still seemed to curse his life after so many years.

He went inside his room and got straight in bed. He would have a long hearing and he needed his rest just in case he had to make a run for it. As his eyes shut he found himself in his past, watching events that he could not change no matter how bad he wanted it to. He saw himself running fighting a horde of hollows along with two of his closest friends. He wore a black gi and it was way before he made the rank of captain.

"Get up, Gyarutsume" he screamed as his sword howled. He dashed from hollow to hollow but no matter how many he killed more took their place. "Conri!" he heard the screams of a girl but turned around just to see her devoured by hollows. "Jade! No!" a boy said running towards the girl. Conri tried to stop him but was jumped on and started to be devoured by hollows himself. He couldn't see but he could hear the screams of the boy. Jade, Luke... they can't be. How did.... Conri thought just before jumping from his sleep.

He looking out his window at the spirit world outside. It was time for the briefing and Conri didn't get the rest he wanted. The dream seemed to have drained him of more energy then his sleep got him. He got out of bed and walked out into the hallway to Xion. "So, you ready to go to the briefing?" he asked as he walked from out his room.

Xion watched as the Captain came out of his room and and he looked as if his sleep had not went well, in fact it looked as if it had drained him more than before. Yet it was almost time to head to the breifing and he stood there ready but still a part of the young leiutenent wanted to ask if he was ok but he knew that their duty was important. He stood up and addressed Conri with an unemotional voice, "Yes, shall we proceed?" Xion was a powerful shinigami though he was young and a bit aggressive he excelled in his duties. He was not in the business of trampling people to get to the top but he was determined to reach the captain status one day. So he did his duties to the best of his abilites hoping to be noticed at some point.

((I don't even know how I spinned off like that sorry... :sweat:))

As they walked through the hallways I figure started to appear beside Conri. At first it was transparent but it started to take shape and solidify. It took the shape of a girl with the tail and ears of the wolf. "Lord Coni, didn't I tell you not to go to the living world? Now your in trouble again," the girl said. "Gyarutsume, I don't need you looking down on me too. If anything I need your support now more then ever." Conri replied. Gyarutsume smiled and nodded. "Of course, you will always have that Coni" "How many times have I told you? It's Conri, not Coni."

She giggled before turning into a black wolf. "But I like Coni better." They entered the room and Conri stood in his usual spot and Gyarutsume stood beside him. "Well I know you are about to chew me out so lets get this over with already." Conri said. Gyaru nudged Conri leg and glared at him. So Conri straightened up and said. "But before we start I would like to say I am sorry for what I did and assure you it was for the good of the soul society."

A few of the captains looked Conri's way, but must kept their indifferent airs. No lieutenants were allowed in this hall unless given special permission. Xion had been given such a privilege for today. At the back most of the room stood a long black haired man, tall amongst the crowd and noble. He bowed his head lightly as the man of the hour walked in before closing his eyes and relaxing. "Seeing as everyone has arrived, let us begin.

'This meeting is being held due to Captain Conri's actions the other day. Without correct permissions he left for Earth. During such event the twelfth division locked onto a strong Hollow Presence. Only moments later had Conri advanced upon the hollow had they both disappeared from sight and his lieutenant returned. Xion, Lieutenant of the second division was asked to retrieve the captain. I'd first ask to hear the report from Xion." His eyes fell over the young Lieutenant on the opposite end of the room with warm, soft eyes. The young Shinigami had his audience.

Ash sighed, not wanting to sit still any longer. She headed towards the kitchen, getting warm water and a cloth. The blood .. At least maybe she could wash off the blood and see what type of injuries they were. She frowned, hoping that he didn’t have any broken bones at least. They’d gotten here so probably not but part of her still worried…

Wordlessly she pulled a small end table over near his chair. She sat down the bowl, taking his glass of water gently before placing it on the table where he could easily reach it. Slowly ash began to clean each cut and bruise, her eyes cast downward in thought. She went through the motion absently, her mind still worried. There had to be… some way to fight…

"Ah..." Ryu snapped back to reality when his glass had been taken. He blinked, then looked up at Ash. the cloth came near, but he didn't flinch until it made contact with his cheek. He grit his teeth before forcing himself to relax. She was just caring for him; that was all.

His eyes downcast, but his mood brightened a bit. She really did worry, and she was different. It wasn't like a gaggle of huffy girls, it was... nice. He forced himself to push off the back of the chair and lean his arms against his legs, being polite and giving her better reach. He would let her clean the wound if she wanted to, no matter if it stung or not.

Don’t move to much Ryu, Just sit however is most comfortable.” Ashli murmured absently, being as gentle as possible but knowing it would hurt a little most likely. In the long run it would help… but in the short run she doubted it was exactly fun. She winced slightly when she was sure it was hurting him but finished as quickly and gently as she could.

“If you get hungry just tell me and Ill make us something….” The red head added to hear earlier words, giving him a slight smile before sitting the rag in the warm water. Giving him another slight smile she stood, glancing at the window absently. She mentally calculated how many hours they had before a family member came home…

Ryu stayed where he was as he hung his head a bit. Sure, he felt a tad hungry, but he also knew that eating after throwing up was not the smartest idea in the world. "F-Fine..." He muttered with a hoarse, unused and very broken voice. His hand went to his scratchy throat, tugging at the collar a bit. He's never said so much in one day! Well... for the past year, that is.

((Sorry guys but I'll be gone for the next six days so I don't know how much I'll be able to post if at all so have fun...))

Xion turned towards his addresser and took a short bow of respect, "Thank you sir, as soon as I arrived in the human world I made contact with the boy that had been reportedly spotted earlier with the captain. I unfortunately had to help him as before I could accurately track down the captain but he did help me out. When i finally met up with Captain Conri he was with another human female but she didn't appear to know anything much like the boy. That is all I have to report sir.

Ash sighed as she watched him a moment, tilting her head to the side. It clearly was difficult for him to speak… and that made her decision easy. She went to a nearby desk and took out a pad and pencil before sitting next to him, smiling faintly. She then spoke softly, “You don’t have to speak if you don’t want to… I don’t want you to hurt your throat… I’m going to go make you some warm tea.. That should help…” As then turned to the kitchen, deep in thought a moment.

Ryu took the pad and left it in his lap. Thank goodness she let him have free choice now. Earlier she kept begging him to speak, so he thought that writing things had become a huge bother to her. He breathed deep and leaned back again as she headed off. Tea, huh? He hadn't had tea since... he met this girl. It'd help relax him a bit.

He shivered uncomfortably before slipping under the blanket once more. Alright... maybe he was a little cold...

- - - - - - - - - -

The captain commander nodded at Xion's general synapse. "This boy... he could see you without a Gigai?" He asked slowly. A spiritually aware human, then. How rare. He thought of this for a bit before closing his eyes. He had yet another question for the Lieutenant. "What did you 'help' him with in the end?"

Ash hummed to herself lightly as she made the tea, waiting for a few moments. She knew speaking was hard on him… she’d only wanted to know to verify the truth of what she had seen. Only now did she allow herself to think of it, that she wasn’t crazy and the vision was real… But why? Why was she having visions? How? What did it mean? This made no sense…

Her thoughts continued to run wild a moment, looking for every possibility both fearful and exciting until the tea pot whistled at her and she jumped two feet. Blushing faintly beneath her freckles and getting a cup for each of them. She rejoined Ryu then, sitting his cup on the table next to him before sitting on the chair neat him again. She began to sip gently, staring off out the window again. “I’m sorry…that I made you speak…I just… I had to know… something strange happened…” Ash closed her eyes, sighing softly.

How did she even figure it out? Ryu breathed and took his tea with a shaking grasp before holding it firmly between two hands. He let the steam roll up along his face and into his lungs as a soft smile played his lips. He loved tea. It only the relaxing sensation tea gave him could cover his entire body. Lifting the tiny cup he sipped from it, keeping it to his lips after and enjoying the scent of it. If there were such a thing as a tea connoisseur, he would try for it in a heart beat.

Ash frowned, simply holding her own cup of tea a moment. She was thinking still and closed her eyes a moment. She wanted to tell him, but was afraid too. She wasn’t really sure what had happened to her… only that she’d seen something in the classroom and then found it had really been happening. Finally she nodded to herself, taking a deep sip of the tea before speaking again.

“Ryu… I was sitting in the class… and suddenly I saw you being beaten… and heard you… and felt like my shoulder was hurting…then I ran outside… and found out what I’d seen had been happening….. I don’t know what’s going on in my head Ryu…” Ash sighed softly, shaking her head. She didn’t know what was going on…. Just that it was so strange…

Xion looked at his captain commander and with on emotion in his voice, "I helped him escape a situtuation from some kids who were apparently bullying him. The girl could see me as well now that I think about it. That is all I did sir." The leuitenent bowed his head again in respect and awaited a response.

Ryu listened to her story, his eyes softening a bit. From what it sounded like, it was some like of fairytale premonition. He sipped his tea again in silence, relaxing a bit more as the hot water ran down his throat. Finally, though, he placed it down, wrestled through his aches, and scribbled something on the pad. He leaned it up for her to see for a moment before lettig it fall and taking his tea once more.

'Ask the robes man. He'd know?'

- - - - - - - - -

"I see..." the captain commander nodded. "That will be all, Lieutenant. Thank you for your time." That was Xion's cue to leave. He looked to Conri next. "I expect a full report from you, Conri. I expect the best response from a captain." He started, giving Conri a knowing look as a smile crossed his lips. "For what reason had you left Soul Society to Earth?"

Maybe….” Ash agreed softly as she read the pad, glancing to the side a moment. She frowned, closing her eyes as she thought of it. Would he know? Would it mean anything? Or would it simply be another reason that somebody was going to try to eat her. She shivered but pushed away the morbid thought before looking to Ryu. She smiled faintly, shrugging her shoulders. “I can probably get my mother to drive you home… it’ll be a few hours before she gets home though…” She said cheerfully, burying as always.

Home... he didn't want to go home. He didn't want to be anywhere. Did he even fit in? He lowered his head, nodding weakly. He'd... have to go home at some point. What if she found out that he'd left school, though? Well, he never really got to class... skipped, then. He'd never really missed a day of school on purpose. His mom would throw a fit.

He sighed, finishing his tea before putting it aside and pulling the blanket up over himself, his eyes drooping low as exhaustion finally picked up.

Ash watched as he lowered his head and frowned, feeling even more worried. She did not know his thoughts… but wished she did. If she had she would have felt the irony… for she felt she did not fit in either… They were two outcasts clinging to each other’s friendship really…She fell into her own thoughts since she could not see his, however, turning to think of her mother. Would she blame As for Ryu’s injuries? Probably… Ash shook her head a little, looking up as she noted him pull the blanket close. She half smiled, he looked like he was going to sleep. If not for all the bruises and cuts it probably would have looked kinda cute…

Conri clinched his fist because he could tell that he had to give him something close to the truth but he couldn't think of nothing short of revealing his secret search. "Just tell them Conri, you don't know what they might do. You already know you need help. Why don't you ask for it?" Gyarutsume said loud enough for everyone to hear. Conri couldn't believe she ratted him out. He looked down at her with a surprised expression but was met by her worried eyes that filled him with regret. He knew she only said it for his own good but her doing so without him giving the ok was something new. She must have been really worried if she were to disobey him.

Conri let out a sigh and said, "Ok... I'm going to tell you everything." He looked at the commander with a determined look before saying, "But I will not sit on the sideline or give up on what I'm about to tell you." He closed his eyes and took in a deep breath. "During my visit to the living world you already know I ran into a hollow, a arrancar to be exact. But I didn't kill him, for good reason to. Which brings up the reason I was there in the first place. I had to ask him where I specific hollow was, a hollow I've been trying to find ever since my return to the Soul Society. His name is Nagendra Ajit."

"As you already know, I spent a lot of time in Hueco Mundo when I went rogue. There I met a Hollow, a Vastro Lorde, that befriended me. He still seemed civil and convinced me you would only do more to help if you had a better leader. So I helped him find strong arrancar to mount an attack to capture the Soul Society. I don't know why but, he seemed to know just how to manipulate me to do whatever he wanted."

"Then, I figured out these arrancars that we were gathering was killing humans to harvest there souls. When I expressed my outrage he showed his true colors, by beating the crap out of me and locking me in a cell. That was when the Soul Society came and saved me. So as you can see I have unfinished business with this hollow and I highly doubt that you have ceased his plans, whatever they are."

What a controversy. Though the Commander knew all of this, having forced Conri to speak up in order to present him with captainship, for the good of soul Society of course, a few of the other captains were in unease. Who wouldn't be after the Spirit War three hundred years ago? Three captains had deceived the Soul Society for their own selfish greed.

The Captain Commander hushed any complaints before smiling to Conri. "So you were in search of this Hollow. For Seretei's sake, I hope?" New leader? Well, every time he had heard that line he could only smile. He'd been Captain Commander for a long time, and he was hardly planning to give the position up. "Who is this other Arrancar that you met on Earth? Surely he was familiar to you? I heard that it was quite a powerful, only soul."

Ryu sat up suddenly, breathing deep before pulling the blankets off of himself. This wouldn't do. This couldn't do. He faintly cleared his throat before taking the pad and writing something down. He didn't want to fall sleep at someone else's house. That was just rude.

'Can we go out?'

Ash frowned slightly, looking at the pad. She nodded slowly to Ryu but said gently “We can…. But are you sure you’re up to it? It might be better for you to stay and rest a little longer…” She reached up to play with her glasses again in thought, unsure if this was a good idea. Where he wanted to go she wasn’t sure… but she was fairly sure it wasn’t wise…

He didn't know where he wanted to go, all that he knew was that the nausea had subsided and he'd recovered from the shock. He could walk through the pain... well... hopefully. It was winter outside, so there wasn't much he could do. But... this wasn't polite. He scribbled on his pad before holding it up for her again.

'I'm being rude. I should not fall asleep on you. Let's go out.'

“Oh Ryu… You’re not being rude…just human… but we can go out if you want…” Ash replied after reading his message, sighing softly. She shook her head a moment but did stand, slipping her reading glasses into her crimson hair once more. Her pale blue eyes were slightly worried, as if afraid he’d hurt himself… but she wouldn’t try to force him one way or the other…though she wished he’d just rest. She glanced to the window, her eyes staring distantly as she thought over the places they could go and Ryu’s not have to be too hurt or strained…

Ryu smiled weakly before pushing himself carefully up to his feet. His abs burned and screamed in pain, but he refused to show it. He looked to her with a weak smile, holding his hand out to help her up as well, trying his best to seem normal, even though he was in... well... agony.