Here Comes Trouble (Doge pt II)

Turning back to look at Kaimu, Yuzuki nodded in agreement. "I guess I will bring it then. And the cookies are good! He's really good at that sort of thing, I suppose."

As he left to go get the clothing piece, she almost thanked him. However that wouldn't be right, so she sighed as she waited... Wondering what she was supposed to do now... Soon Yuzuki could transform back into dog...but she was enjoying herself as a human for now. Would it be right to be about with a random man she met in the Rukon in merely this yukata and whatever else?

Rubbing her forehead at the headache that was sure to start soon with such ideas, she turned to look at Kaimu in a bit of surprise, her red lips an 'o'. Moving quickly, she snatched the Haori and pulled it on with a pleased sigh. "Ah, yes this will do quite well... You are a pleasant Master."

She held her arms out and twirled slightly, a soft smile on her face as she admired the coloring. It really set off her hair. In a quiet voice, barely above a whisper, she spoke. "Thank you..."

"It's no problem." Kaimu replied once she'd finished speaking, catching the quiet thank you she gave him. "I'm glad it helps."

She seemed to like it, which was good. The point was to give her more coverage but if she liked it then it was even better. Wearing something you didn't like could sometimes be troublesome.

"Now that I am attired in the proper manner, what is your first order, my Liege?" Yuzuki's face went blank and she stopped her happy prancing about. This man was owed a debt, she would repay it. Moving to his side, she slipped her hand into his and held it in front of her body as she bowed over it. It...was rough. Much rougher than hers, she wasn't sure if that was indicative of anything since hers were soft on purpose. Her red nails shown against both their hands.

"I will do all you ask of me." Her voice became a bit petulant as she continued. "...As long as its not perverse."

Kaimu thought for a moment, he wasn't used to giving orders but he'd play along with this as was their wager. "Well, let's see....How about we visit Ijiri's Archives? You did mention you were a scholar, Ijiri-san collects all sorts of hand written records of Rukon residents from all around. I don't think some would be found in libraries of the Seireitei...so are you interested?"

Ijiri's establishment wasn't far from here, probably about a ten minute walk or so though...but still, he thought Yuzuki might be interested...though he hadn't exactly phrased his words as an order...he wasn't the best at this master/servant thing...

Yuzuki looked at Kaimu with a frown and one eyebrow raised.

"Ah..." Kaimu tapped the side of his chin for a moment when Yuzuki didn't respond and simply looked at him, frowning...

Right...orders...

"Accompany me to Ijiri's then, that's an order." He stated, after having thought of how to word his meant-to-be-order towards her.

"Yes Master." Yuzuki hid a smile, bowing formally with her arms outstretched. She straightened after the appropriate time, covering her mouth like a trained courtier with the edge of her sleeve as she hid a smile.

"Where you lead this one shall follow, Master. Please treat this one well."

Kaimu gave a smile and nodded, "Mm! Alright then, let's go~!"

His smile momentarily phased into a happy grin before he turned and began walking towards the exit. He wondered though if those that were still looking for her, due to that whole gambling thing, were still around...he could have the two of them stick to the shadows if that were the case but the walk wouldn't be nearly as nice then...

He could deal with any trouble if they were to run into it, so after some thought he deduced that it wasn't a huge worry; even though it would be best if none of those people bothered them at all.

"Master is so pleased, this one shall try to emulate Master's enthusiasm." Yuzuki smiled brightly, her hand dropped as she followed behind Kaimu the perfect image of a noble maiden even in such clothes as she had on. She...was not good at pulling off servant but... maybe subservient?

Following behind Kaimu out into the street, she looked around with curious eyes even as she tried to stay composed. In dog form she saw things slightly differently, so it was always interesting to see things once more in this human form...

She had to keep reminding herself to stay properly behind Kaimu as befitted a subservient person, though her legs urged her to follow him closely or even move ahead of him.

"Master? If this one may request responses from one such as yourself?"

"Hmm?" Kaimu questioned, looking back at Yuzuki as they walked. Was she requesting a conversation? The speech was so formal he was unsure if he was making the right assumption. "Is there something you wanna talk about, Yuzu-tan?"

"Master may call this one whatever Master pleases, but Master really should not call this one so informally if one wishes to be this one's master." Yuzuki looked at Kaimu pointedly, rolling her eyes. "However...this one did wish to learn more. About these places, where people live. How...do they survive? It seems to unclean."

"Well Yuzu-t...Yuzuki, most of the residents here have to settle for well...what's around us. These older buildings aren't much but they're better than living outside. Most don't have to worry about eating, unless they possess reiatsu that could potentially lead them to becoming a shinigami. As for uncleanliness well...some can't really afford use of the bathhouses every day, but when they can that's one method; other methods could be they collect water from the rivers and bring it back home to use it."

"That...makes sense." Her golden-yellow eyes glanced at the world around them, a bit upset at such things. She didn't have to worry about any of that... only when she visited out this way. What would...it be like to live like this day in and day out?

Yuzuki felt a bit bad for her luck and looked down, growing quiet. She really tried not to think about it but it always seemed to creep up on her out here.

"Most try to make the best out of what they have, whether they're by themselves or they have family; it's good to stay optimistic out here." Kaimu continued, "It's hard but manageable depending on what district you live in."

He'd noticed her silence after a moment, glancing back he noticed her downcast gaze.

"Mm? Yuzuki? Something wrong?" He asked, his tone hinting concern.

"Some of them are so unbearable to be in I can not stand to stay for longer than a short time." Yuzuki sniffed, let Master take that as he would. She couldn't stand the districts where the despair was written on every street corner like that. Where even the children wished to die. Maybe he'd take it as it being dirty? She could only hope.

Still his concerned tone made her sigh loudly, a slight blush tinting her face. "Master, you should save such concern for others that are not this one. She is perfectly fine and able to handle herself emotionally. I am NOT a weakling."

She scoffed and crossed her arms, a few stray hairs floating around her face as she glanced to the side. Yuzu didn't need the concern of a rogue who wandered around doing nothing.

"Things are bad in certain districts...it's a harsh reality, one that's not easy to accept...but...it's just the way things are here." He answered, looking ahead once more as they walked. He hated that that was how things were...but it wasn't like he could do anything to change it, not alone anyway. The Rukongai was a huge place, there was no way to keep the peace in every district. There weren't enough shinigami to police the area like that either...which was good for him but not for the everyday residents...

He gave a small smile though, at Yuzuki's next words. "You're right, Yuzuki. You're not weak but it's no crime to be concerned over the feelings of someone I consider a friend. Even if you currently are playing the role of 'servant.'

"..it shouldn't have to be..." Yuzuki almost whispered that, her voice and tone low and sad, she didn't want Kaimu to hear such things though. He already thought her soft enough, no need for him to see her being like this.

Covering up her feelings behind a haughty glance, she covered the rest of her face with her sleeves. There was not much she could do or him either. He was merely a resident out here, albeit an odd one with... oddness she couldn't place. He didn't seem like the usual rukon goer and Lakshmi seemed to think him strong...

Still her face tinted more and she hmphed at him louder, pointing and exclaiming. "I am your servant until the time period we had agreed on ends! One such as I would never back down on a wager made in good faith! And you should never be concerned for me ever. I will not allow such feelings! Even pity would be more acceptable than simple concern. It is good my Master sees my strength of emotion though."

Kaimu stifled a laugh; fine, he'd keep his concern to himself then...though her words wouldn't stop him from feeling that way if she seemed upset. He considered her a friend and being concerned over friends was perfectly acceptable.

"I know you wouldn't. You're an honorable person, Yuzu-tan." He responded before giving a small 'whoops.' "Ah right, Yuzuki...I mean, hehe."

Looking ahead, he could see Ijiri's from here; the building a bit longer than most of the one's surrounding it. He used his entire downstairs as an archive of sorts, so that meant he had to limit his living space to what he could and he'd built more to his home to give himself just a bit more room.

"That's the place, Yuzuki." Kaimu smiled, "You can find all sorts of interesting things in Ijiri-san's archives."

"You really are awful at this Master. Interesting eyes are really all you have going for you." Yuzuki's snarky words came back because she was feeling still a bit upset from her thoughts earlier and Kaimu was rather easy to take such things out on. He accepted all he was given and well that made it much simpler for her to yell at him. He wouldn't fight back.

Still as they reached their destination, she moved past Kaimu and covered her mouth with her sleeves once more so no one could see her smile. "I see. It is as small as I suspected. Master may lead me inside, if Master so chooses. One's servant would not want to get in the way of what one's master desires."

"I am no noble, so I'm unused to luxuries such as servants; this is a first." He laughed as they came to a stop at the front door.

His smile remained as he opened the door, leading Yuzuki inside as he called out to the building's resident. "Ijiri-san~! It's me, Kaimu~!"

There was a shuffling from another room for a moment before a man looking to be in his middle-ages appeared, giving the rogue and his companion a smile. "Ah, Kaimu? It's been awhile...you haven't visited the district in over a week, I'd say. What brings you and friend here?" He asked, giving a small, polite bow to the two.

"If it's possible we'd love to look at your documents, Ijiri-san. In your archives?"

"Oh, of course; that would be perfectly fine." The man replied before turning to Yuzuki, "It's a pleasure to meet you, miss. Forgive the late introduction, I'm Ijiri as you've heard." He added with a small chuckle.

"I shall have to passive aggressively teach you then, as all good servants must. Your food shall be cold and your bathing waters lukewarm until you learn... Wait..." Huffing, she rolled her eyes before realizing she couldn't do such things for him now. "I suppose insulting you is enough for now to let you learn."

Still she quieted as the new person was called out rather familiarly and came from in back. The proprietor of the place! Giving a formal bow to him, her hands hidden in the sleeves as she did so. She let Kaimu speak before standing up properly, her red rimmed eyes taking the old man's appearance in. The smell of clean paper and books permeated the air and she smiled softly.

"The pleasure is all mine, Ijiri-sama. My Master was hoping to please this one with offerings of manuscripts. This one is Yuzuki Morinaga, a scholar." She hoped... it would work? If word got around too much about a noble out here... Though in all honesty her markings were obvious and plain as day, metallic and red. She wasn't a normal resident even with these rather plain compared to her usual clothes on.

Kaimu stifled a laugh as she realized she could only use her insults, rather than passive agressively try to teach him a lesson as she'd though.

Ijiri was...quite dumbfounded by the fact of Kaimu having a servant, even if it was only a temporary deal between the two; he didn't know that however. His confusion wasn't obvious though as he gave them a polite smile.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Morinaga-san." He motioned towards the back room, "Of course I don't mind, my archives are all in the back if you'd like to view them."

"I would be pleased. My helpless Master here may assist me, so as to not bother one such as yourself. I may not look it but I am a trained scholar...Servant." Yuzuki caught herself in time and continued the bet. She had been getting too uppity! No need to bother this man with their trouble right now, even as her eyes shined with interest. Works here in the Rukon? She wondered about them so much...

Looking at Kaimu pointedly, she waited for him to move and help lead her. A servant shouldn't walk in front of their master.

Ijiri gave a nod, smiling in response to Yuzuki's words; it was good to see people interested in such documents. They were there to be read after all.

Kaimu's expression remained the same as usual, a smile on his face as he moved to direct Yuzuki to where all the documents and such were kept, but not before giving Ijiri a final thank you to which he acknowledged with another nod and smile before he left to return to his own work he'd been busying himself with before their arrival.

"Hopefully you'll find things of interest, there's a lot kept here so..." Kaimu began as they entered the large room, bookshelves filled to the brim with books and various scrolls and documentation folders. It was nicely kept, orderly so things could be easily found.

"Yes yes. I see it Kai. No need to tell me." Yuzuki pushed past Kaimu gently, heading into the room with bright eyes and a pleased happy air around her. She was practically glowing, her tattoos shining metallic in the light as she reached up to gently ease out one document from its spot. It wasn't one of the more delicate ones and by seeing it it would help her reference the collection itself. She flipped through the pages quickly but also carefully, her eyes reading over the pages at a rather fast speed as she pretty much forgot Kaimu's existence for the moment.

Setting the folder back in its slot, she ran her finger along the bottom of that particular shelve and hmmed before turning back to the man who had been ignored. She rolled up the arms over her haori and yukata in a rather unnoble manner as she attempted to give herself more freedom. It revealed more tattoos covering her arms though Kaimu could have seen them earlier when she was rather naked. "Master, you are tall yes? You must get me things I can not reach. Such as that one, up there? The golden edged scroll, if you would."

There were stepstools and such but... Why use those when you had a perfectly good tall person here?