Out for Lunch [Open]

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"Ya know Kaimu, I don't have anything going on today. I'd be willing to go to the festival and cover for you if you run into trouble."

Kaimu's expression immediately brightened, "R-Really, Norma-tan!?"

He practically wanted to jump for joy at this but even he knew that wouldn't be appropriate in such an establishment. He was happy though, even happier than he'd been earlier. It was fun to go to festivals but it was even more fun to go with other people.

"Yes really. Why else would I say I would?"

Norma rolled her eyes at the man. How could someone so naive be on the run as a criminal. Norma picked up a celery spear and took a bite of it. She still had most of her food left, and almost all of her water. Norma was a very slow eater, as were most elderly people.

"I haven't gone to a festival in quite some time."

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"Yes really. Why else would I say I would?"

Kaimu smiled, a small chuckle escaping him as he relaxed in his seat, prodding his eating utensils with his finger idly.

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"I haven't gone to a festival in quite some time."

"Mm, same here." He replied, his expression that of someone who was visiting their own personal memory lane. "Last time I went to one I was still a kid, I wasn't that into going but Tatsuo really wanted to go. He dragged me around everywhere." He chuckled again. "We didn't win anything though, but the experience was still fun in and of itself."

"The last time I went, I was still young and pretty. I wasn't old and fat."

Norma chuckled lightly. Henry had taken her to a fair not long after they had moved to this Soul Society. It was what made her learn to love this area. The fairs here were so much more extravagant than the ones back in the European Soul Society.

"I bet you miss your brother a lot, don't you?"

Kaimu gave a warm smile, "I do, I miss him a lot. He probably would have brought his wife and daughter here if they were still around, I think they would have enjoyed the festival too."

Despite what his brother had gone through, despite what that mental problem, whatever the cause, had made him do to them, he had loved his wife and daughter with all his heart. They had been more important to him than life itself.

Kaimu wished he could have at least learned what had caused Tatsuo to snap like he did...had it been the stress of being a high ranking officer? The stress missions put on him? The problem's his wife's family sometimes weighed him down with? Was it something else? Kaimu hadn't ever found out.

Without missing a beat, he gave a soft chuckle. "He would have spent the entire festival winning all sorts of prizes for those two. He loved to spoil them rotten with gifts and affection."

A dark haired woman whose hair was in a neat bun held together by two wooden needles like a new ball of string came out of the washroom, freshly powdered. Her square rimmed glasses darkened as she lowered her head at the blood/milkshake scene that had been left. She slowly touched her face, biting her lip, turning around and scanning the restaurant.

When those she looked at looked away from her sight, she grimaced, folding her arms across her white blazer, but her black pantyhose legs still wobbled on her red high heel shoes. She looked at Kaimu and Norma, saw her sword, opened her mouth, but no sound came. She clenched her fists, and turned back around to the table.

"I only left him for a couple of minutes..." she whispered.

"That's very sweet."

Norma never said things like that, but in this instance it was fitting. Kaimu was all alone now, just like her. So she understood how he felt. How it felt when the only person you have in the world is taken from you. It's so very painful at first, but then you just become hollow.

"I know kinda how you feel. I lost my husband many years ago. I miss him a lot. It's just a terrible feeling when you lose the only person who truly means something to you."

Norma noticed a dark haired woman come from the ladies room. She looked as if she were searching for someone.

"Miss, are you lost?"

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"I know kinda how you feel. I lost my husband many years ago. I miss him a lot. It's just a terrible feeling when you lose the only person who truly means something to you."

Kaimu gave a nod, "Yeah, it is."

He noticed Norma's attention leave their conversation soon after that, following her gaze, he looked and saw a woman who all in all...seemed out of place in such an old establishment. She looked lost or like she was looking for something or probably someone.

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"Miss, are you lost?"

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"Miss, are you lost?"

The woman took out a handkerchief and wiped some of the running makeup from the edge of her eye.

"No, but I should start getting lost soon. They'll never forgive me for leaving him alone. No, he's the one that is lost. He looked fine when I left him and I was only gone for a couple of minutes. I don't understand what could have happened for him to..." She looked back at the grizzly scene. "cause this. Now I know why they cycle through a lot of caregivers. I should have known I was nobody special."

"You mean you were responsible for that monstrosity?"

Norma turned her nose up at the woman. The nerve of her showing up now after the curtain was drawn.

"You have a lot of nerve showing your face now. That...thing should be kept on a leash. As a former captain of the Gotei 13, I should have eliminated him. Any threat is one too many. You have a right to be afraid of whoever hired you. You did a shit job."

Norma spared this woman no words. She really was a bitch sometimes. She didn't care if she hurt your feelings. Norma took her sword and slid it back into it's sheath. She eyed the woman up and down, noting her skimpy choice of clothing.

"Maybe had you dressed a little more modestly he'd not have acted out in such a way. Only whores and prostitutes wear red shoes."

'So she'd been in charge of him...' Kaimu noted, though she'd been a few minutes too late to catch him. Perhaps they shouldn't have let him out of their sight, considering the appearance of this woman as he'd thought earlier -- she stuck out. She didn't look to be a normal resident of the Rukon, most people couldn't afford clothes like hers, even the prostitutes tended to never wear clothing like hers.

He didn't like to judge on sight but, things seemed suspicious to him.

[quote]"You have a lot of nerve showing your face now. That...thing should be kept on a leash. As a former captain of the Gotei 13, I should have eliminated him. Any threat is one too many. You have a right to be afraid of whoever hired you. You did a shit job."[quote]

"Eh..." Kaimu was pulled from his thoughts by Norma's voice and that voice wasn't exactly saying the nicest things. Though, he couldn't exactly deny them. If it was this woman's job to watch him she hadn't been doing a very good job.

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"Maybe had you dressed a little more modestly he'd not have acted out in such a way. Only whores and prostitutes wear red shoes."

"Ahhh, he just left here a few minutes ago -- maybe you could still catch him. I think he muttered something about the festival that's happening tonight. So maybe that'll help you." He said quickly, a sheepish laugh escaping him afterwards.

She just couldn't understand Norma. Were formal captains all so - aggressive? She had to take some courses in psychology, but none of it prepared her for people like this. She pushed up the bridge of her glasses.

She grimaced at Norma, with spine now completely straight and eyes resolute despite the fact that tears continued to flow from the ducts of her eyes.

"If you knew him like I do, then you wouldn't call him a monstrosity. You are the one that's threating him with violence!" She gulped. "I did a terrible job this time, but I will never leave him again." She now had a hand at her chest, but then she threw it down in defiance.

"Also, the way that I dress is none of your concern. My employers requested it, and I'll have you know he happens to really like my red shoes."

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"Ahhh, he just left here a few minutes ago -- maybe you could still catch him. I think he muttered something about the festival that's happening tonight. So maybe that'll help you."

"Oh!" She now froze that 'O' face as she blinked twice at the more mild mannered man beside the 'former captain'. "Thank you."

"Darling..."

Norma began, her face becoming more grim. Her almost translucent skin from her advanced age seemed to take on a more sinister appearance.

"I don't make threats, but merely promises. Now let me promise you this. If that boy can cause anymore trouble like he did here, or if he has an outburst and hurts someone, I will put an end to it, and as his care taker, you're part of the it."

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"Oh!" She now froze that 'O' face as she blinked twice at the more mild mannered man beside the 'former captain'. "Thank you."

Kaimu gave a nod and offered the woman a small smile in contrast to Norma's harsh words. If he knew exactly where the man had gone off too, he would have told the woman more but he'd told her as much as he could offer.

He hoped that man wasn't causing anyone else any trouble, like Norma had mentioned. If someone got hurt because of him...He didn't want to think of what could happen.

"Don't fucking call me 'darling' you delusional bitch! His condition is treatable, and if you knew anything about him, you would understand that he would never hurt another!" Her lip started to quiver. "... only himself."

She pulled up a chair from the blood/milkshake scene and sat down, obviously exasperated. "He could be anywhere in a couple of minutes. I just wanted to show him the outside world again. Maybe I shouldn't have. Not when the outside world thinks of him as a problem."

Her legs started to wobble as she stood up, gulping. "but I still have to find him, and hope he'll be at that festival."

"You're having a nervous break down, and I am the dysfunctional one? Hardly seems fair."

Norma sipped her water casually as the woman sat down. This woman was obviously in over her head. She needed someone who could help her.

"He may not hurt someone on purpose, but if he flails around and acts like he did today, someone could accidentally get hurt."

Norma took another sip of her water. She was done with her food. It had grown soggy.

"You're in over your head, this much is obvious. You need some help."

"Maybe he's around the area the festival will take place, it's just a few minutes walk from here..." Kaimu muttered to himself while Norma and the woman argued. Kaimu wanted to stay out of it, the spat anyway, but he wanted to offer and advice or information that could help this woman find the man faster so he wouldn't have to worry about the other residents.

He had been thinking back to when the man had left, how long ago it'd been and where the man would be now in that time span. If he truly was headed for the festival grounds, he would most likely be there by now wandering around.

She'd mentioned employers...Just who did she work for that required her to do this kind of job and to dress in such a way it made her stick out from the crowds?Was she part of some organization? Maybe that was thinking too big, perhaps he was thinking too much into it to begin with, either way something was gnawing at the back of his mind about it.

She'd also mentioned wanting to let that man see the outside world again, meaning he'd been kept away somewhere before, though people like that, people with problems like him were often under those conditions; kept away from the outside world so as not to harm or bother others.

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"You're in over your head, this much is obvious. You need some help."

Norma was right, she needed help if that man was always like that. Even if it was just to watch after the man and make sure he didn't get into any trouble, it was still a tiring job.

Anyone would have a nervous breakdown if they knew what could happen to them if the employers found out.

"And how would you help?!" She barked at Norma, slamming her fist on the wooden table, but then bit her lip. She was having a breakdown. "Your willingness to use lethal force worries me. I just want to bring him back home safely. It's my responsibility if any harm is done to himself or others, but I see that has already happened."

"Alright, you two may help me if you wish, but try to avoid startling him. He trusts me, but it's easy to have that trust broken. Please, life hasn't been too kind to him as it is."

"I'm capable of more than you give me credit for."

Norma nonchalantly sipped her water. What was this man's story anyway? What was wrong with him? Why wasn't he in some sort of asylum. So many questions to be answered.

"Sometimes lethal force is the easiest method, if you have the stomach for it. Now, what's this man's story?"

Norma sipped her water again. The woman's answer would determine weather or not she'd help.

Kaimu watch Norma and the woman exchange words, just as he was about to ask about the man in question, Norma asked the woman herself.

Even if he did have his suspicions about this woman and whatever it was she did, they needed to find that man. Knowing more about him would probably help them locate him easier.

She looked certainly capable of killing, this ex-captain.

"Story?" She shook her head. "Not much to tell, really. It definitely won't help us find him."

She sighed. "All I know is that my employers have gone through a very long list of potential caregivers in the hopes of finding one that can somehow reach him. I'm pretty sure that the ones that hired me are only representatives of the interested party, however." She sighed again and slumped her shoulders. "They certainly didn't act like family. It could be that they are ashamed of him, but it doesn't add up when you consider the effort that's put into his well-being. I... have only known him for a couple of weeks. I thought I was making progress. Appealing for him to leave the institution for a day was a mistake."

"I'll help you. Not sure what I can do, but it is my duty to help those in need."

Norma was grumpy, but she had a good heart, and would always lend a helping hand to someone who truly needed it. This lady, needed it. She was in high water if they didn't find this man, and no telling what kind of trouble he could be getting into.

Kaimu gave a nod and gave the woman a kind smile despite his suspicions, "I'll help too."

Making sure that man didn't cause any trouble, whether he meant to or not, was top priority. He could speak with Norma and voice his suspicions to her later and see what she though.

The time she spent away from him to make herself look better was definitely for not now. She looked terrible as she wiped tear stained makeup from her face, and looked older because of it. What she shared with the man was that they both could cry shamelessly.

"Do you know where the festival is taking place? We should go there even if they are just setting up, and ask for assistance from the staff in watching out for him." She pouted, however. "It'll break his heart though, not being able to go to his first festival. I showed him a picture book and everything, but he needs to learn discipline. He needs to learn not to do --" She threw her hand up in disdain over the bloody milkshake table. "this."

A staff member had finally come out, swept the remnants of the glass that had shattered and started to scrub the table with soapy water, politely asking the caregiver to step aside.

"We don't have to break his heart..."

Norma thought for a second. I mean, this would work, but did she want this woman to know what her powers were? What she could do? Did it really matter though? If the woman had plans on betraying them, she couldn't very well stand against Kaimu and Norma. Unless, she had associates. This could be tricky, but was worth a shot.

"My zanpakuto has the ability to cause illusions. I could make him think he's at the festival, when he's really in the safety of his own home."