Throw the ball, to the stick.

[damn_juicebox]

WHO: Rukia Kuchiki, OPEN
WHAT: Undertaking Cid's quest to acquire the Scholar job, Rukia is assigned to take care of (aka distract) a dog that's bothering the workers at the lab. The catch? It's a ghost dog. A real nice ghost dawg.
WHEN: October 4th - October 10th, during lab hours
WHERE: Starting at the lab, then moving through the city. She probably won't go to the chocobo farm or anywhere densely populated.
NOTES: I'm starting this in prose, but you can respond with action brackets if you prefer.


It was an ordinary morning. She cooked herself a simple meal of rice and broth. Brushed her teeth. Changed out of her pajamas to assume the usual black robes of her Ninja class. Combed her hair. Bid goodbye to the roommates.

But the task she set out to complete was far from ordinary. She was dealing with a ghost, and she was something of an expert when it came to souls. As such, she was armed with her secret weapon, tucked safely away in her pocket until the time came when she would be forced to use it.

She arrived at the lab ten minutes before the normal working hours, and lifted her hand in greeting. "I'm here for the ghost."

It wasn't hard to find. It was lifting its leg as if peeing on a piece of important looking science equipment. But, being a ghost, there were no smelly liquids to clean. "Oi! You!" Rukia folded her arms to regard the canine sternly. It whipped around to look at her, then its tongue lolled as it crouched playfully on its front legs. "I've come to deal with you."

She jammed her hands into her pocket, seizing the secret weapon, and held it aloft.

It was a rubber bone. Squeak squeak.

"Let's go, you."

Barking enthusiastically, the canine bounced and pranced around Rukia's legs as she walked out of the lab and into the streets, bone held high over her head.

The ghost was harmless, what she would have called a 'Plus' spirit back home. It retained enough of its old memories and heart that it couldn't be considered a threat. Would that she could perform konso, she would have been glad to put its soul to rest, but she had no access to her shinigami abilities. For now, she would play with it.

In truth, she didn't really mind. And secretly, as the days passed, she found herself growing very fond of the capricious creature. Rukia had never owned a pet before, especially not a dog. So she took it for walks, played with it in the park, repeatedly got knocked over every time the dog got too excited and wanted to bowl over the 77-pound woman, and when play was over, she sat next to it at the base of the tree, petting it. Or making the motions, anyway, which it seemed to enjoy just as much.

As it curled up next to her knees, Rukia leaned her head back. Was it wrong to get attached like this? Eventually something would have to be done, and it was ill-advised for a spirit to linger on the plane of the living for too long. But still... She looked down at the pale sleeping spirit, and allowed a small smile to cross her face. For now, she could get used to this.

Comments

Oct. 5, lab

[charming_jerk]

When Rukia shows up at the lab on the morning of the 5th, someone else shows up around the same time, sleepy but ready to go. Speaking with the lab workers, Johnny finds out that Rukia has already started to work on the ghost dog issue, so he seeks her out, and catches her as she's leading him towards the door.

"Hey. Looks like ya beat me to the punch. Uh, not that he looks too tough to deal with. Hey there, buddy."

Johnny wasn't sure how a ghost dog was going to act, but he hunkers down to offer it a hand and a pat on the head in greeting.

[damn_juicebox]

His hand passed right through the dog's head, but it seemed just as happy as if the touch had connected, and barked gleefully.

"Oh, so I'm not the only one assigned this task." That was a surprise, and it certainly lightened the load. ...If she could even call it that. Just one day with the spirit had been enough to win her over. "Then you applied for a job as well. What did you ask for?"

She noticed that the dog's head was following the gestures of her hand. Oh, right. The squeaky toy. She pushed it into Johnny's chest. "It will follow you if you squeak this."

[charming_jerk]

Johnny blinked and looked at his hand, wondering what he had expected to happen, really. Well, the dog seemed happy enough, so whatever works.

"Yeah. Dragoon. I was runnin' out of combat classes to work on, so I thought I'd give that a go. What about you?"

Oh, a squeaky toy. It might be a ghost, but it's still a dog, so that made sense. He gave it a few squeaks to get the dog's attention. "I didn't expect this to be the job they gave me in order to get it. I mean, I don't know what I expected, but dealin' with a ghost definitely wasn't it."

[damn_juicebox]

Dragoon. That was the third time she'd heard of someone taking the class. What was the appeal, she wondered? Perhaps she should read about it, and see if it was something she wanted as well.

He raised an interesting point. What did a ghost dog have to do with a combat class? Surely he didn't intend to fight the thing. "It could simply be a matter of the peace," she shrugged. "Now that the time loop has been solved, matters in the city are not quite so dire. As such, assigned tasks might be more mundane for a while."

The dog, meanwhile, had jerked up to its feet (somewhat; it was floating) and was wiggling wildly with anticipation. Was he going to throw it? Would he give it to the dog? Would they walk? It was so exciting!

[charming_jerk]

"Yeah, maybe. Nothin' world-shattering happening at the moment, so time to get the little stuff outta the way. Though I probably shouldn't jinx it."

He can't leave the little ghost hanging any longer, so Johnny lobs the toy down the hallway a bit. If his hand went through it when he pet it, he was curious to see if it could actually pick that up.

"I dunno, after the time loop thing, I'm totally okay with some quiet for awhile."

[damn_juicebox]

"Oh, so you were aware of it as well!" It was funny that she hadn't run into him at some point, but then again, she had spent a great deal of her time looping outside of the city, trying to verify just how far the effects of the loop had spread. Either that, or she was training.

Meanwhile, the dog had taken off like a bullet to chase after the thrown toy.

"What happened during your loops?" she asked. Apparently he must have had a far more exciting experience than she had.

[charming_jerk]

Now there was a loaded question. If Johnny could pale, he would right now. Most of his loops were quiet, but some were rather eventful in ways he's not exactly proud of. But the real reason he was stressed out over it had nothing much to do with those.

"Uh, it wasn't so much what happened during them, than the fact that they were happenin' at all. Before I was here, I was on a world where people were screwin' with time all over the place. And when it all started to backfire on us, right before some awful side effects started, the first thing to start was time loops. Just like those. 'Cept in Exsilium, it only lasted like a week, not friggin' months."

He shakes his head in relief. He couldn't be more glad it was over.

"I was going outta my mind trying to figure out how to fix it, and thought maybe Crystallis was goin' the way of Exsilium. And that was the last thing I wanted."

October 4th

[iscursednomore]

Fai was always fine with doing the odd jobs he keeps getting to get something new, but this one was to him the most oddest one ever. he had gone to see the problem and could tell quickly that this was going to be the most unusual job. However when he had seen the other arrive practically five minutes after his arrival, he was quick to pick up on something else and while he wasn't paying attention the dog was probably trying to steal something.

"Hello again, I assume you have the same Quest as me about the ghost dog?"

Re: October 4th

[damn_juicebox]

"Fai?" Rukia blinked, straightening. The dog spun tornadoes on the ground, eagerly awaiting the squeaky toy she had promised.

Wait, did he remember her from the loop? She hadn't bothered to ask if he was aware of it or not. Hopefully he had, otherwise this would be hard to explain. ...But he'd said 'Hello again' so surely that meant he--

The dog plowed into Rukia, knocking her clean off her feet as it made a lunge for the toy. She lay dazed and frazzled on the floor as it sat triumphantly on her chest and munched on the rubber bone. Squeak squeak squeak.

[iscursednomore]

"That's my name." He had been aware of things during the loop and he wasn't one to hide that fact, unless of course he had done something silly and didn't want the other to remember, but he knew in this case that wasn't the case.

Watching the dog, he knew he couldn't react in time, but had managed to avoid giving off a small chuckle. "He's pretty excitable and will simply take what he thinks is his... Which I guess for most dogs is most things. But you must admit he is pretty cute."

[damn_juicebox]

"Y...yes..." Rukia blinked. How had it managed to do that? It seemed to be selective in what it could interact with. If she tried to touch it, her hand passed right through. But it seemed capable of grasping a toy and knocking down shinigami like bowling pins. What a strange spirit.

She sat up slowly, and it phased right through her. Rukia shuddered and put a hand on her chest. That was unpleasant. The dog's tail was sticking right through her, wagging. She quickly stood up and rubbed vigorously at her arm.

"Did you mean to take your shift now, or would you rather work together on this one?"

[iscursednomore]

"It all depends. I do have to work at the cafe at some point. So I guess this could mean my shift ends here for now." He watched the dog phase through some objects it wasn't as interested in playing happily with the toy it had managed to get for the moment.

"I assume you'll be taking him out and about? Because well he does seem to like walks."

[damn_juicebox]

Rukia nodded. "I had planned to go to the park. There's far more open space there, and I do not think he would trouble anyone in the area." She watched it ignore the physical laws of the living, and again felt that quiet sense of unease. Why was it here? Why had it not passed on?

These were questions she could dwell on later, she would have to observe the ghost carefully for now. If there were some sign of its reason to cling to this world, she hoped to discover it.

October 6th

[heavenlyhonour]

Angeal had been outside practicing with his sword but needed to look at different scenery. He'd had a lot on his mind and had a minor skirmish with some ghost or another. It was definitely different to fight an opponent that his sword went right through.

But he happened upon Rukia sitting at the base of the tree with a ghost dog curled up next to her. Angeal didn't know what to say but he did wonder how Rukia felt, knowing this was obviously a dog that had died.

Mentally he willed himself not to think of Zack and instead smiled at the resting pair.

[damn_juicebox]

He'd caught her at a good time. It was her shift to watch over the dog for a while, something that she enjoyed more and more as the time passed. It gave her time to think, and relax, and even sneak in some reading...whether it be a trashy horror novel, her dating reference guide (a romance comic), or a thin manual about preparing for the military tests, called "So You Really Like Push-Ups and Shooting Things in the Face."

She happened to glance up and catch Angeal's gaze, so she slipped a bookmark between the pages and set her reading aside. "Afternoon."

[heavenlyhonour]

"Books and a ghost dog, I learn more about you all the time." Angeal remarked, crouching down to pet the ghost. "I didn't realize you liked them." A plan began to form in Angeal's mind to get her a real dog if that was the case. He'd seen someone the other day say that they were selling some puppies.

And who knew, maybe he needed to have a more active animal than turtles, so he might get himself a pup too though it would never replace the one he'd raised into a fine First Class Soldier.

[damn_juicebox]

Just wait until she got the Beastmaster job. She'd have an army of animal allies at her side.

The ghost dog's tail thumped noisily, even though Angeal's hand passed right through the dog. It was the thought that mattered, apparently. "That makes two of us," she smiled, draping her arms loosely over her bent knees. "I was asked to distract him in order to receive my next job. There are two others as well assigned to the task."

She chuckled. "Don't let him fool you. He may look like he's expended his energy, but he'll knock you over the moment you turn your back."

Rukia would know, it happened to her five times already.

[heavenlyhonour]

"Distracting a ghost dog in order to receive another job..." Angeal mused thoughtfully. "What's the job?"

Her chuckle was almost contagious and he couldn't help but to try and tease her. "You can push me around in the kitchen yet a dog can push you down? Seems like we need to resume training."

Angeal figured he'd either get hit or taken up on the challenge, but either way, if it made her smile whichever way it went would be worth seeing her smile.

[damn_juicebox]

"Scholar," she replied proudly. "I mean to learn the Ancient language. Perhaps this way we may discover more clues as to our purpose here. It seems vital that I learn this."

...What was with that look? Was he implying that a mere dog could best a shinigami? The neeeerve. "Oi..." she replied with a flat stare.

She'd been training diligently, thank you very much. Especially during the time loop. Or did he even know about that? ...ho ho ho ho ho ho...

"Perhaps we should. I might surprise you." With that many extra hours worth packed into half of one day? It was an understatement to say the least. She'd picked up a few extra abilities as well she was eager to test.

Oct 4th - Before all the things

[aero_dienamic]

Val likely wasn't the last of the roommates she'd bid farewell for the day... but probably the last one she'd want to talk to about it... because Val's life is generally uneventful (which is her own fault, frankly), she's going to be all up in Rukia's business before she heads out the door.

"Oh~ And just where are you going, little missy?" she teases, even if, technically, she is the youngest adult in the house; only 7 years since creation!

Excellent!

[damn_juicebox]

"To the labs," Rukia replied plainly. She had no objections to Valvalis; sometimes she really enjoyed talking with her. Rukia didn't often talk about herself, but if her roommate asked, then Rukia would answer...sometimes happily. "I was assigned a task in order to receive a new type of job. I would like to arrive early before the researchers get there, so as not to get in the way."

She smoothed a hand down over her robes to make sure she looked competent, then stepped toward the door. "Will you be home tonight? I may try my hand at cooking a meal for everyone."

Re: Excellent!

[aero_dienamic]

"Oh, I have no plans really. I may go out for a while, but I'll be home then." she responds, speaking of being home. But the rest garners more attention.

"So, what's this new job? An actual paying job, or one of our crystal jobs?" she asks, pulling her own crystal from her rather deep cleavage.

Re: Excellent!

[damn_juicebox]

Stop mocking her with things she'll never have.

"A crystal job," Rukia replied, slipping on her shoes. "I mean to undertake Scholar, so I can learn the languages of this world. The sooner I begin, the better." She grabbed her jacket and slung it over her shoulder, just in case the autumn morning proved to be colder than anticipated.

She needed to leave soon, so as not to be late her first day on the job, but she held the door open and looked at Valvalis in silent invitation. If she wanted to walk with her, she was welcome to do so.

Re: Excellent!

[aero_dienamic]

"Oh? Well if that isn't rather fancy of you~" she giggles. "What made you want to learn so much, mmm?" she asks, tucking her crystal away once again. It's not as she deliberately teased the girl with that rather hefty chest but just, it was a nice natural pocket.

"I have a couple of interesting jobs but... I'm not sure what good it'll do me, but, it's nice to try something new once in a while."

[damn_juicebox]

Why? Rukia thought it would have been obvious, but then again, it was easy to get swept up in the wonder of this place. Rukia glanced out the door and into the street.

"It is not as if I planned to stay here forever. There are duties to perform at home, and people who are waiting for me. The more knowledge I have, the more likely I am to find a way for us to return, once this world's Calamity has been neutralized. There are records I would research that seem to be written in the Ancient language."

With that, she stepped outside. "It seemed the sensible thing to do."