Can I help you?

The sun was really too hot today. It wasn't quite sweltering, but even in her tank top, Nadia felt the heat. She tipped back the water bottle, pretty happy she hadn't filled it with with alcohol like she'd considered. She probably would have passed out in the sun like a jackass. She glanced up at the sky.

Nyssa really needed to hurry up.

She felt a tingle on her arm and glanced down to see Ulysses peeking out from his tattoo, threatening to pull away from her. She blew a quick burst of air at him and he retreated. She glanced around at a few other people standing around. She doubted any of them would have noticed her arm suddenly losing some ink but she wasn't going to test it.

She heard footsteps and glanced over. A rather cautious looking high school girl approached her before meekly holding out a piece of paper. Nadia glared at it and reached out to take it before the girl scurried off. Great. Bad news. She opened it. It seemed Nyssa had decided to go eat with some friends after school and would be walking home with them later. Wonderful.

Nadia stood up, stuffing the note in her pocket. She didn't notice when she pulled her hand out that her wallet came with it, dropping on the ground behind her. A moment or two later she was already far down the street.

Why was she even doing this?

Because she...needed to ask questions, important questions. Certain not questions on whether or not certain candies existed...certainly not something as silly as that...

She needed to ask Miyako important questions, that's why she was here.

When she reached the main gates though, she arrived just in time to see a wallet drop from a woman's pocket. The...woman hadn't seemed to notice...

With a few quick steps, Muika leaded down to grab it. The woman was already pretty far down the street, but it wasn't like she couldn't catch up with her. Something like her wallet was something she needed so...

Putting her plans to the side for now, she quickly followed after the woman slowing some when she was a bit near. "A-Ah...M-M'am...You...dropped you're wallet..." She'd stuttered, but she didn't know this woman...and wasn't good at...talking still with people she didn't know to begin with.

She'd been lucky to get a sentence out really.

The wallet needed returning though, so that was what drove her.

Nadia was fairly certain she'd heard someone walking up behind her. And she was also fairly certain she heard someone calling after her. She considered turning around... but they called her ma'am it sounded like.... so... She pulled out her headphones and put them in, content to ignore the person and turned on her music. She picked up her pace, walking ahead like she hadn't noticed the person.

Something seemed... a LITTLE off though... She bumped one foot against the other and her wing tattoos, invisible under her jeans, disappeared while a fluffy white rabbit-like thing floated up in front of her. She gestured with her eyes behind her. The rabbit floated up to sit on her shoulder and stared back behind her to watch whoever was following.

She'd just...kept on walking, the woman had even put her headphones on. Muika hadn't expected such a....response, if it could really be called that. She almost had to wonder if the woman had even heard her when she'd mentioned her wallet.

It...needed to be returned though, if she left and then later the woman realized her wallet was missing...

While she was thinking that, she looked up at to see a...rabbit? It was...looking at her...

Zephyr sat on Nadia's shoulder peering at the girl walking behind them. His little nose twitched and he made a little tiny squeaky noise. Nadia made a hrm noise before turning quickly and walking down an alley. As soon as she was out of sight of the girl following her, the rabbit swirled around her feet, forming a pair of attachments under her feet that looked rather... rocket-y. They proved rocket-y when she lifted her foot in the air and it kicked off, immediately pulling her up through the air to the rooftop where she landed.

She watched the alley below to see if the girl entered.

She...She just wanted to return a dropped wallet! Now she had the woman whom the wallet belonged to ignoring her attempts to return it and had a rabbit staring at her.

The animal squeaked, and not long after the woman quickly turned a corner into...an alleyway...

Caution began to take over her but...

When she reached the alleyway, enough to see down it she saw that the woman had disappeared. Muika blinked once, and was weighing her options rather heavily. The woman had gone down an alleyway of all places...and was now gone...

Obviously, it was a bit suspicious.

She kept the hand holding the wallet out and to her chest as she took one step into the alleyway, maybe she could just...turn it into the police station... It was the safer option, really.

Nadia glared down the alleyway at the girl... She looked innocent enough, but looks could always be deceiving... She summoned two more of her spirits, which quickly formed her cape and glasses, so she could track the girl and defend herself if need be. Hrm... Why was this girl followng her? She summoned Raijin and nodded down.

The little golden cat spirit squeaked at her and she glared before pointing down. She was not in the mood to be questioned, damn it! It scurried down through the air to the girl and circled around her, sniffing and investigating, while Nadia hid above.

The option of just going to the police was beginning to seem like the best choice as she took a fourth step into to alleyway. It wasn't that she didn't think she couldn't handle herself, but she'd rather just...avoid danger in general.

Her first instinct would be to run, even use her abilities to mask her appearance, but...

As those thoughts crossed her mind, it was then she noted the cat that had began to circle her. What? It was...

"Mm..."

Nadia tilted her head a little. She'd reacted to Raijin. All the information she needed. She stepped up to the edge of the building and hopped off. Jetstreams of air shot out from her feet and a moment later she was shot to the ground in a crouch behind Muika, almost in the road.

She stood up immediately, taking a step forward. "Why are you following me?" She barked. It couldn't be a coincidence that someone spiritually aware had followed her away from Nyssa's school. No matter how small and innocent this girl looked, Nadia was not giving her the benefit of the doubt.

Muika jumped back a little when she heard the woman address her from behind as she turned around. She was asking why she'd been following her...? It was then Muika outstretched her hand holding the woman's wallet.

"You um...dropped this earlier..." Where had she come from...? She hadn't been here earlier, but now...

Muika had her suspicions, but her priority was just returning the wallet now that the woman had finally given her her attention.

Nadia scowled. She didn't have a weapon out, but Raijin was swirling around just waiting to form one if the girl tried anything. She anxiously waited for the answer before she held up the wallet. She... Dropped that? Her hand slapped to her pocket, finding nothing there and she felt a sinking feeling in her gut.

Her hand snatched out to take the wallet and she flipped it open. Oh.... "Uh..." She pocketed her wallet. "Sorry." She said rather sullenly, standing there silently, before making a small grumbling noise and adding "Thanks."

As the woman snatched the wallet back and looked it over, Muika remained silent until she was spoken to, when she shook her head at the apology; "It's alright, w...welcome..."

The apology wasn't needed, she...could have spoken up more rather than continue to follow after her...probably, if she'd just pushed herself with a little more effort...it was still...nerve-wracking almost though talking with people she didn't know.

Nadia ran an eye up and down her. No obvious weapons hidden on her but then again she did have powers. Still... "Name's Nadia. You're spiritually aware. Care to explain that?" It was a question but it certainly wasn't said like one. If this person provided a reasonable explanation for the coincidence, she'd explain that it was just out of concern for her sister more than anything.

She had heard that Japan had more spiritually aware people than most places, but it couldn't be this common could it? Or had this been a particularly rare occurence?

Raijin floated over, making little mewling noises and sat on Nadia's shoulder. She made a small growl at the thing, which just rubbed itself against her. She WAS being nice, damn it.

"M...Muika." Muika introduced, though her next question caught her a bit by surprise. Spiritually aware, explain it...? "I...I'm not quite sure how to explain it, I've...been this way for years."

What more did she want her to try to explain...?

Did she want to know why they'd crossed paths?

"I had been...going to...ask a friend about something...but I saw you drop your wallet so..."

Nadia narrowed her eyes, crossing her arms. She said nothing at first, but the half cape hanging off of her left shoulder dissipated into a little blue dragon which began floating lazily around her head. "Hm. Are there a lot of spiritually aware types in this area or are you an oddity?" She supposed the odds of Muika being any kind of threat were.... pretty slim...

"I see." Why was she seeing a friend at high school? Whatever. It wasn't any of her business.

"Well...there seem to be a few...spiritually aware people here..." Muika replied, "People that have...potential to develop awareness...can sometimes be influenced by ones that are already aware so...I guess that's why it's become more...common in this area."

She knew...of humans that lived well...there was Iyuki, Miyako, Rin, Hibiki...Naki as well, since a bount was not a shinigami nor were they arrancar...

That was five humans that she knew of...and there were likely more...Nadia made six...

"C-Counting you...I know of six at least, but there's probably more."

Nadia stared inscrutably at Muika for a few more seconds after she answered her question. She Shifted back on her feet, dropping her guard a little. She supposed... Muika didn't seem like she was lying.. Honestly, she wouldn't have suspected her of anything if she hadn't shown up at the school.

"My... sister.. Goes to school there... I'm a little over-protective." She explained, as if that excused anything. "Especially from spiritual beings." Granted that was more because she didn't feel threatened by mundane people.

"Any of your friends dangerous?" She asked, though her tone was notably less demanding.

"Ah..." She supposed that was a reason to be concerned, if you had family to look out for there was cause for caution; she could understand that. At her question though, Muika had to answer honestly; "Overall...I wouldn't say so, only when they need to protect themselves...They don't really seek out trouble."

They could be dangerous, but only if it was necessary, if someone egged them on...Even Hibiki had mellowed since he'd gained his freedom...

Most of the people she knew were supportive types anyway.

"Mm... well... I don't think they'll have much to fear from me... I keep to myself mostly." She didn't make a habit of socializing. Even this was more than she was used to. One thing was still nagging at her., though..

"Why WERE you at the school.... if.. you don't mind my asking?" She added the second part reluctantly, trying to be nice after being so harsh earlier. "That is the main thing that made me suspicious... someone with spiritual powers hanging around my sister's school."

"Why was I...I was going to see a friend that goes there..." Muika answered; "I'd meant to ask her some things, not...important things but..."

She'd just thought to ask, definitely nothing crucial or of high importance though...her questions could easily be answered at any time.

"Oh." She frowned. That was hardly the sort of answer she'd expected. She'd... well, she'd expected SOMETHING less mundane from lurking around a high school. Then again this girl did hardly seem older than a teenager. She sighed. Well, no point lingering here? It seemed like she should-

It was then that Raijin curled up on Muika's shoulder rather suddenly, quickly purring. Nadia shivered as one or two other spirits pulled themselves loose and went to go check out this person now that Raijin had approved of her.

"Oh great..."

"Mm..." Giving a small nod, Muika quieted; she wasn't sure what more she could say...there wasn't really a point into going into anymore details, it wasn't like this was an interrogation or anything. She'd just gone planning to ask Miyako about a few things...

She was surprised though when the cat suddenly appeared at her shoulder, it was...purring? Should she try to pet it? It...

Just when she was wondering that, more of Nadia's...spirit beings appeared as if to investigate her. What...What was she supposed to do?

Oh great? Muika looked up at Nadia, slight confusion in her eyes as she was unsure of what actions to take.

Nadia sighed, placing a hand on her face. "You can... go ahead and... pet them or.. whatever they want... They want to make friends with you..." She groaned. The gear she did have on disappeared, replaced by more spirits. Even more came off of her. Soon, six of the little things were floating happily around Muika, delighted to meet a new person.

"If it sounds like they're just chittering it's because they are. Don't ask me why but I can understand it. They're saying they're happy to meet you though." She sighed again. Every time they met someone who could see them and wasn't trying to kill them, they had to do this.

They wanted to make...friends...

Muika's eyes moved to the cat, and then to the others before she finally moved to give them pets; she still held a bit of confusion, but...buried under that was happiness. Even if these were...spiritual animals it seemed...it was nice that they wanted to make friends with...her of all people...

When she was little she remembered animals always trying to scratch or bite at her when she tried to pet them; she'd been...careless she guessed but...when she'd started living her she hadn't bothered much with them...thinking they'd just act the same, but now...

Unconsciously, a small smile appeared.

The noises they made, so they were...happy to meet her...

"N...Nice to meet...you all...too..." She ended up stuttering, but it was to be expected she guessed...

Nadia rolled her eyes and took refuge from all this nonsense against the alleyway wall, crossing her arms and leaning while the spirits floated around Muika, chittering and cautiously investigating. A few of them landed on her shoulders and head, while others sniffed at her.

"The golden cat is Raijin. The snake is Lumia. The little.. mushroom guy is Nightcap, go figure. Ulysses the dragon you met too. The little... hummingbird thing is Dart and the rabbit is Zephyr. They're... my spirits... also my tattoos when they're not leaving me barren over here.." She sighed. That WAS the one downside to her power...