melodiesoflife | THE ROOM(MATE)

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THE ROOM(MATE)

WHO: Rukia Kuchiki, OPEN (especially to people in B-03)
WHAT: Rukia explores the city to learn how to navigate this new place ~~and to find the best trees to climb what no~~, as well as get a look at the house where she was assigned to live.
WHEN: Backdated to September 5th - Early Evening
WHERE: Aqures Ixren, then B-03
WARNINGS: None. Rukia is short.

[Moving Around the City]

Chappopo the Moogle was lucky. The hero she'd been assigned to was a couple of inches under five feet tall. As such, there was no need to worry about keeping up with a long-legged stride. Rukia's pace was brisk and confident, but her stride was short. She showed her curiosity without reservation, moving past the populace and pausing occasionally to examine a vendor's cart or a shop window. Doing so allowed her to catch a glimpse of her reflection. The ninja's hood and mask were slipped down long ago, and she was relieved to find that her appearance was largely unchanged. She still looked as she had when she was a Soul Reaper.

"I should like to know the places of importance," Rukia said, pulling herself away from a clothing shop. Wearing robes of black so openly amongst other humans was a little strange, but at least she wasn't alone. She saw at least one or two others wearing the same ninja garments as she did.

"Kupo? Should we visit the airship port?"

Rukia smiled. Airships... She could imagine what those would be like. She inclined her head. "I would like that, thank you."

Maybe they could get something to eat, as well. Surely they would have given her some of these 'gils' they'd mentioned, to see to her basic needs.

[Finding B-03]

It was dark by the time Rukia had got her fill of the city. There was still much more to see (particularly the Chocobo Stables, which were closed much to her disappointment), but she was tired and more than ready to rest. Following Chappopo's directions, Rukia approached the house to which she was assigned. It seemed like a comfortable place, at least from the outside. As to what the interior held, she couldn't guess. Rukia rapped politely on the front door with her knuckles.

"There will be others living here as well?"

"Three, I believe," Chappopo answered.

Rukia nodded slowly, thoughtful. Interesting. It would be good in any case to meet others who were better versed in the world and the duties of being a Hero of Light. She stood patiently on the front step, arms resting loosely at her sides.

"I'll leave you to it, then. Good night, Rukia-po!"

She smiled warmly. "Good night to you as well. Thank you for your guidance this day."

[OOC: Still new, feel free to let me know if I made a mistake, and I'll edit!]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Robin wanted to greet the new arrivals personally, but it hadn't happened that way. She had been busy -- both helping with Fairy Tail's efforts to reconstruct the city, military concerns, and her own personal research at the library -- and had simply not gotten out to meet them. She felt a little guilty -- but not so much to stop in her errands.

Her moogle, Marc, walked after. He was ever patient. He also had a trio of books in his arms, to match the bag full of them that Robin was carrying. She promised to return them to the library.

She paused as she saw Rukia, then raised a hand. Someone new? Perhaps. She waved her hand as she saw her. "Ah, hello!" the tactician called out. She smiled, a moment after she did. "Are you new?" A beat. "As in new-new?"

"Hm?" Rukia withdrew her finger, about to proud a wooden carving next to a store's front entrance, and straightened. She blinked, twice, and realized that she was indeed being addressed by this friendly silver-haired woman. She bobbed her head.

"I am," Rukia replied, as Chappopo waddled delicately to stand beside her. The cheerful moogle waved at Marc, before scurrying forward to help with the load of books. "I arrived just this morning, as a matter of fact."

The people in this town were welcoming and friendly. That was unexpected. She never thought she'd be made to feel at home quite this fast. "Kuchiki Rukia," she introduced herself, putting a hand against her chest.

"Ah, a fresh arrival! I remember when I did," Robin said, smiling. She came closer, before she extended a hand out to Rukia to shake. The silver-haired woman nodded, before her smile relaxed slightly -- she looked a little awkward, then as she realized. She wasn't, in the grand scheme of things, that much newer.

"I'm Robin," she said. "Ah, no surname, at least not that I remember."

She could ask Morgan, but that might get awkward in short order. The woman tilted her head to the side. "I arrived about four months ago. How've you found it so far?"

What...? Ah, yes, a typical human greeting common in the western parts of the Living World. Rukia's hesitation was brief before she took Robin's hand with a firm grip to establish the proper greeting. "Hello, Robin. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Those were an awful lot of books. Rukia regarded them, rubbing her chin thoughtfully. Were they for research, or pleasure? She was about to ask, before Robin made her polite inquiry.

"It's a fascinating society," she said, folding her arms. "There is much I have yet to understand, but the experience is pleasant, I suppose. I do have a few reservations nonetheless."

Again her gaze strayed to the books. "Do you need some assistance with those?"

"Oh, if you don't terribly mind!" Robin answered. "I'm returning them to the library."

She planned to collect a new set of them after that, to start reading through those. Ever since she arrived here, Robin had been eagerly consuming books. She really needed to start buying a few -- ah, but that could wait. She smiled again, then, partly at the thought of reading new books.

She wasn't hard to please.

"It is fascinating, isn't it? It has some troubles, too," she admitted. "I've learned that they really do need some heroes, but there is time enough to see the sites and enjoy it! Did you see much of the city yet?"

"Not at all," Rukia smiled, reaching out to take some of the books. Hopefully not too many; Rukia was weaker in this form than she was formerly accustomed, with her tiny build. Nonetheless, she could still be of assistance.

As for the sites, Rukia shook her head faintly. "No, not yet. Perhaps we will see more on the way to the library." She hadn't asked how far away it was. Hopefully more than a block, or she was going to embarrass herself.

Walking at Robin's side, her brow furrowed again, immersing herself deep in thought. "What of the worlds we came from? They won't be missing our presence?"

Robin handed over a pair of books -- enough for Rukia to handle, she reasoned -- and she kept another couple for herself. She looked around for a moment, just to get her bearings. After the Imperial attack, she sometimes needed to look around again. The war had destroyed a few landmarks and left others changed. Then, though, she started walking.

Her expression tilted downward, though, and her brow furrowed.

"I've worried about that," she said. "The truth is that we don't know. The way that reality seemed to shatter before we awoke here... it still worries me. What I think is that, eventually, we will find more and return home. But until we can learn more, it's all a guess."

"Shattered..." Rukia echoed absently. Yes, that was how it had seemed. But the things she had experienced, the emotions she felt, the friends in her heart...those were true. She did not believe they were some mere reflection or false dream. Such a thought was completely unacceptable.

"Someone must know. I'm certain of it." Her small shoulders were set with firm determination. "I have no qualms about being called as a Hero in this world. But there are duties I cannot forsake in my own, and people I am loathe to leave behind without so much as a word of warning."

She tilted her head slightly to regard Robin. Surely this woman felt the same? And there had to be others as well. But everyone in this city looked relatively well-adjusted. That was interesting.

"I thought much the same. I left the military I was with at..." Robin frowned, to think of it, and looked to the side. "It was an inopportune time. I would like to get back -- or to at least send word. But..."

She folded her arms, thinking about it for a moment. It was difficult to explain; part of it was Robin's mindset, which entailed looking at life and taking it as it came. It was a necessary coping skill for someone with amnesia. Robin couldn't dwell -- if she did, she could think too hard about how much she lost.

"I believe we came here for a reason," she said. "Both in why we were pulled away and why we were here. I think the answers are out there and that we'll find them. I try to make it manageable, by focusing on what's in front of me and learning what I can. Otherwise, I'm so out of my gourd..." She sighed. "It would be easy to be overwhelmed."

Rukia listened patiently. So Robin was involved in some sort of armed force? That was interesting, she might not have guessed from appearance alone. Robin had some good points to make as well, but Rukia was undecided nonetheless. Whether there was a reason or not, she had no wish to worry her captain, nor her brother and friends.

"Of course," she replied, softening her voice. "I hadn't meant to sound as if I were casting judgment on you. I find your attitude admirable, if you must know the truth."

If only Rukia were so adaptable... Nonetheless, taking things one step at a time and focusing on the situation at hand seemed best for now.

"No offense was taken," Robin answered, with a shake of her head. "It's a fair line of questioning, too. I was more... ah, alarmed about it when I first got here." Marc listened to no small amount of doubts and questions from the tactician, for that matter.

She tilted her head, curiously. "What Jobs did you receive? Have you had a chance to practice much with them, yet?"

"Ninja and...Red Mage, I believe." Rukia glanced back at her Moogle for confirmation.

"Kupo!"

That seemed like a yes, so Rukia bobbed her head with greater confidence. "I take it the jobs I utilize are responsible for my appearance? Beyond that, I know little of what a specific job entails."

"Ah, I'm also a Red Mage!" Robin exclaimed. "It's a well-rounded Job. Spells for battle and healing, and some skill with a sword, too. You can't do poorly with it, though it's best enhanced with something else."

She nodded, eagerly. "Now, I've no experience with Ninja. I imagine it's fast, from what I have heard."

"Ah," Rukia blinked, glad to have a little more clarification on what being a Red Mage entailed. She had wondered what the color defined, and while she still wasn't clear, the range of spells sounded similar to what she was accustomed to casting with kidou.

"I'm glad to hear it," she remarked, looking ahead of her once more. "As a shinigami, I was skilled with blade and magic both. Perhaps that is what determined the nature of my jobs as well."

Glancing at Robin again, Rukia hesitated, then asked, "If you find yourself with spare time, might I impose on you for training?"

"Ah, it could be. I used a sword and magic -- and I was a tactician, to boot, on my world," Robin said. "I had Scholar and Red Mage, to begin with. It would make sense."

She tapped a finger against her chin, thinking about it.

"Yes, yes, it's a wise idea--if it's conscious!" she said, with a little rising excitement. "If newcomers mostly receive Jobs that match their own abilities to begin with, they're more effective upon arrival!"

Pardon her. She was having a moment.

"It's a sound theory," Rukia agreed. She wished she could offer more of value, but there was still much to learn about the jobs as well as the types of people who were selected as heroes. She'd met a few when first arriving, but she hadn't stayed in the same spot for long, feeling it was more fruitful to explore her surroundings rather than wait for others to come to her.

"Is there a government body in the city?" she asked. "Perhaps they would know more details about why we are summoned, and given our respective jobs."

"There is, though they seem confused about us too, at times." Robin sighed. "But Wedge, Biggs, and Cid have all been quite helpful. But one--ah, Jessie."

Robin glanced to the side. It still hurt to think of; they had trusted Jessie, and it hadn't gone well in the slightest. She was behind much of what happened. "We thought we could trust her, but she was using us. The answer, unfortunately, is that we have a mystery on her hands."

Rukia was quiet. Yes...it was difficult, when one of authority abused their station and betrayed the ideals of the whole. She was very much aware of the hurt it could cause.

"I suppose we must find our own answers, then," she sighed. "I have no doubt, then, that the three you mentioned are besieged by questions from newcomers like myself." She looked at Robin, then at the books. "Ah! I understand. You seek answers in the library!"

Aizen Sousuke might have sneezed, if sneezing benefited his plans.

"Mm-hmm! And information about this world!" Robin said, with a slightly wider smile than before. "Ah, you see, it has a quite thorough history that well predates our arrival. We're as new to this as the people here are new to receiving us--well, er, sort of." The previous Heroes of Light were a bit of a wrinkle in that. "Unfortunately, the books just give me more questions..."

"And more wisdom," Rukia pointed out. "Even if they yield more questions, you nonetheless take a step closer to finding truth. Your studies are worthwhile." She adjusted her hold on the books to shift them under her arm.

Hmmm...

"Perhaps I may assist? I have little else to occupy myself at the moment. We can cover twice as much information if we work together."

"Yeah!" Robin exclaimed, excitedly.

She never could turn down research help. For one, Rukia was absolutely right; two minds would read through more books and take better notes. They could also talk them over, explore more theories, and investigate more ideas. For two, reading things together like that was simply fun.

"That sounds like a plan," she said. "Did you do a lot of research back home?"

"Some," Rukia said. "The 12th Division was the scientific research branch of Soul Society, and I was a member of the 13th, so I cannot claim research as a specialty. But when I was enrolled at the academy, I was a diligent student." She'd had to work hard. She and Renji came from a place where knowledge and books were a luxury; there was no one to bring them up with knowledge of a shinigami's duties or the nature of Hollows outside of the classroom.

She was pleased at Robin's enthusiastic reception to the idea. It was far easier to learn with a 'study buddy' to be sure.

"Let's arrange to meet at least once a week, then. It will be an excellent opportunity to expand our understanding."

"Ah, I see! That's all that it takes. A willingness and an eagerness to learn!" Robin said, with a knowing smile and a proud nod. She was, perhaps, a little too sure of the importance of learning -- and how well people took to reading. But, in Rukia's case, she doubted that she had anything to worry about.

"Once a week sounds fantastic," she said. "I can fit that into my duties in the military easily." She already came to the library more than once a week, after all.

"Excellent!" Rukia grinned, liking the prospect very much. "We can meet and exchange notes over tea, then move to the library to continue our studies. We'll take home different books to see what results our research yields." Yes, it was the perfect plan.

But don't be surprised if the occasional horror novel worked its way into Rukia's stack.

"What is the military like?" Rukia asked. "Do all Heroes enlist, or is service voluntary?"

"Oh, that sounds fantastic!" Robin said. Nevermind that they had, essentially, invented a book club. It was a book club with a purpose. Even if novels sometimes slipped into their stacks of materials.

The other question, though, made her tilt her head. She saw how someone might wonder; it made Robin smile, before she shook her head.

"Oh, it's voluntary," the tactician said. "It's based out of Esdham. It's worthwhile--plenty of time for our other duties, I find. If you have military experience, it can be useful."

THE ROOM(MATE)

In the city!

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Ha ha ha ha!

:D

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