Welcome to Gaia! ::

Ruka arrived just outside the South Gate in Rukongai. She waved at Hikonyuto who inclined his head slightly in greeting. He was out and about today so she supposed he was bored for once. Practically bouncing on her toes, she waited anxiously for her lieutenant to arrive. Where is he and why is he taking so long?! she wondered irately. She wanted to get going now so she'd have enough time to go see some old friends.

Raine waved down from the top of the Gate to his Captain.. "'Bout time you got here, I feel like I've been waiting all day!" He smiled. For once he had beat his captain to somewhere, he crossed his arms with a proud smile on his face, as if he were pleased with himself.

He jumped off from the top of the gate and landed with a crouch beside his Captain. "So this is it then?" He asked her, as he had some idea that she had come from here from their past conversations.

Ruka glanced up sharply "Hey if you were here already why did you have me waiting?!" her tone was scolding but the laughter in her eyes showed she was only teasing. At his question she nodded and turned fully to face the South District. "Yeah." there was a fond smile on her face "This is home."

For a moment she closed her eyes and allowed herself to be immersed in the memories of her life there. It had been tough, but the friends she'd made and the people she'd met along the way had been worth it. Ukitake-sama. she opened her eyes again, he as the only person she would ever address with an honorific. "I wonder... if everyone remembers me." she questioned aloud "Or even... if they're still around."

The thought weighed down heavily on her for a moment before she shook it off. "Well we won't get anywhere just standing around here." she smiled and started walking. She didn't get far before she noticed Kilk sitting down by a fence. "Kilk Nagara? Captain of Squad 8? What are you doing here?" there was a warm smile on her face, it was a friendly question.

Ruka shook her head lightly "Kusabana actually. But that was close." she grinned. She was about to explain the reason for their being there, but Kilk finished talking before she could do so. The brunette stared at him with wide, disbelieving eyes as she ran the sentence through her mind several times. Her mouth opened, closed, opened, closed again. At last when she regained some semblance of composure she opened her mouth again... only to burst out laughing.

Ruka fell to her knees, clutching at her sides as she laughed. Her face was red from the lack of oxygen and tears were starting to stream down her face. Several of the Rukongai residents gave her odd looks but she didn't even notice. The thought of her and Raine together wasn't just amusing, but the thought that anyone had mistaken them as such (even for a second) was.

Raine followed close behind, mesmerized by the environment around them... So this is where Kusabana-Taicho came from... He analyzed, staring in wonder at the many shops and children playing in the streets. He bumped into one of the people accidentally, watched as they dropped their belongings on the ground.

Repeatedly apologizing, Raine was quick to kneel to the ground to help the man collect his belongings... With a nod from Raine and the tip of the man's rice-hat, Raine proceeded forward to the same ramen booth that his Captain was now inside of. He sat himself neatly on one of the stools, looking around for utensils, not realizing they were available in a small cup on the counter. These chopsticks were the ones that were conjoined, you pulled them out, they were made of an inexpensive wood, and you snapped them apart to have the two chopsticks. Raine was never used to such a style of utensil, so he remained there silently, looking to the chef who asked what he would like, and responded. "Oh, the same, traditional please." He sat quietly, completely and obviously perplexed.

What the heck do I eat it with? They didn't provide us with chopsticks... Raine complained to himself.

Wow. Raine thought, as he observed his captain's reactions to being here. She must have really spent such a long time here... She must miss it I think... He guessed, as Ruka simply pulled something from the cup and snapped it into half, which turned out, to Raine's surprise, to be chopsticks. "Oh.. So those are the utensils." Raine sighed in releif, as he was seriously considering using his hands to eat the ramen. At her amusement, Raine side-smirked, giving her a teasing eye... "Hey, at least I'm not the one who couldn't open a juice box..." His smile grew wider. "But thank you very much Tiacho..."