Rising Sun Posts

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At Gnosche's words, Lilith would bring a hand to her chest, looking as though he had truly insulted her. Her lips formed a pout, and the emotion in her eyes seemed to be true, genuine sadness. "That's so mean, Gnosche.. We're all on the same team, I think we should all like each other." In reality, she was just toying with him, enjoying the charade of her new persona. If Gnosche did not enjoy her company, it was not anything she would lose sleep over. She followed the scientist down to the basement and through the lab, blinking in faux surprise at the mess that had been made while they were gone. Bits of cake and frosting coated the walls and floors, and where Isaac had last been a large cupcake sat in its place. While her companion ran over to the cage to check for the boy, Lilith brought a finger to the corner of her lips, canting her head. "Ah, he disappeared?" Although impressed by a magic trick, she would put her hands together to clap quietly, walking over to the cage as well to find the buried Seshiro child. As Gnosche tried to figure out how to fix the dilemma, Lilith carefully cut into he large confection with her hand, inadvertantly smushing the side of her face into the pink frosting. She was careful not to pull out her claws, so even if she were to bump the child inside there would be no damage done. "No need!" A few seconds later she had opened the cupcake enough to reveal Issac, and she'd give the child a thumbs up, grinning. Between the sweetness in her expression and the frosting smeared across her cheek, she appeared incredibly more innocent than in any other encounter.

"Are you okay?" Again, her head tilted and she knelt down beside Isaac with a worried expression on her face. Helping him out of the cake, she'd quickly go about introducing herself. "My name is Lilith, but you can call me Lili if you want! You're Isaac Seshiro right?" Her voice was that of a happily chirping bird. "I'm sorry I've never stopped to talk to you before, I've just had a lot on my mind this last month. We lost one of our friends in battle." The smile on her lips faded, and the Espada lowered her gaze to look at the ground, a simple expression of mourning. It didn't matter if Isaac held any ill will against the group in general, he feel her sadness. He would find himself sympathizing with her, and wanting to comfort her. For the moment she truly seemed fragile, a kind and gentle soul who had been sucked into a war that she wanted nothing to do with. She sighed and shook her head, bringing a soft smile back to her face. "Forgive me, I didn't mean to bring up such a sad topic." A lie, of course, she needed him to felt drawn to her emotionally. Already, her power was in full effect, but she had modified it slightly. In general she preferred the route of seduction; it was much easier to deceive somebody when they were consumed with lust, but Isaac was a child and she was not trying to trap him like a regular enemy. She needed to become his friend. The pheromones she put out would see to it that he would instantly become trusting of her and her words.

"So you built that machine, right? How does it work?"


The interest Lilith held over Isaac's contraption was not entirely feigned; truthfully she was curious about anything she didn't understand and the Espada had certainly never seen anybody produce a giant cupcake before. She mirrored the boy's surprised expression as the cupcake expanded and surrounded them - not that she felt truly startled or threatened - but a second later she was laughing. "No need to apologize! I've never been inside a cupcake before!" One of the strangest sentences the woman had ever exclaimed, and it was one of the only ones she had spoken to the boy that was truthful. Then, when the two turned on her to assign the blame, she protested. "Wah?! Don't blame me I was just curious!" Digging herself from her cake lined prison, she'd brush the crumbs and frosting off her attire to the best of her ability.

Ignoring Gnosche as he began to devour everything, she'd not to Isaac. "That's right, I am supposed to take you for a walk. We thought you might like to stretch your legs and spend some time in the sun after being down here." By now, there was still about an hour or so before the sun set. She'd smile and gesture for the child to follow her up the stairs. "So you were saying you wanted to use the machine for storing food? Do you work in a s-- Frysa!" Lilith's voice was one of shrill, horrified embarrassment, and she was quick to cover Isaac's eyes so that he wouldn't be exposed to any bit of the other Arrancar that wasn't covered. "There are children here! Go put clothes on!" Quickly she would grab Isaac's hand and guide the Seshiro boy through the kitchen, using her other hand to continue covering his eyes. Before she exited the residence she grabbed jackets and scarves from a hangar in front of the door.

It was only when the two were outside of the house that Lilith would release him and uncover his eyes so that he could see once more. Her lips formed a childish pout, cheeks flushed over the brief encounter in the kitchen. This too was fake; nudity of any kind had never been a bother to her and she was not phased by it. She herself was perfectly comfortable walking around without any clothes, but she was aware that it was deeply disconcerting to the other Arrancar. "Sorry about that! Frysa doesn't always understand when something is inappropriate." She rubbed the back of her neck, giving an awkward giggle. He would understand, of course. In his eyes now, there would be very little that she could do wrong.

Lilith put on one of the jackets she had grabbed and wrapped it around herself, buttoning it up. The cold of the World of the Living did not bother her, but the more human she seemed to Isaac, the more sympathetic he would be toward her. After wrapping the scarf around her neck, she held out the same garments to him. "Here you go. I don't want you to get cold." Her expression was soft, a gentle smile upon her face, red eyes warm like a fireplace. "Is there anywhere particular you wanted to go? I know there's bookstores and cafes around. But maybe we should try to find a hardware store instead?"


Placing a bookmark to hold her spot in what she was reading, Lilith sat up when she heard her nickname called from the kitchen, swinging her legs over the edge to stand. Exiting her room, she complied with Rosa's request, opening the door to the basement and walking down the steps, calling down to the pair. "Gnosche! Isaac! Come get breakfast!" Her voice was as sweet as it had been the day before since she had started talking to the Seshiro boy as she had to maintain her appearances. The prisoners would be leaving soon, and she had to make sure they maintained a good impression of Sestran's army. Walking further down, she approached the pair, smiling and nodding toward the pies. "You should bring those up to the table." She gave them a thumbs up and turned back around, heading back upstairs to take her seat at the table. "Thank you for making breakfast, Rosa! Everything looks lovely." Nothing about her performance seemed forced or faked; to Hinata and Isaac, this was simply who she was. Speaking of Hinata, she turned her attention to the Shinigami.


"You're Hinata, right? I heard you're having a baby! Congratulations." Her voice was warm and inviting, and she utilized the same pheromones that she had used on Isaac the day before. The woman would begin feeling the same sort of security in her presence that the child had, and unless she actively fought against it, she would feel the desire to befriend and protect Lilith. The Espada would of course wait until everyone had been seating before trying to eat; it would be rude otherwise.

When the floor beneath her shook, Lilith frowned, annoyed that Gnosche was being so careless while Isaac was still with him. It mattered not to her if the creature blew himself up, but if the boy was harmed it would be quite difficult to smooth over any harsh feelings from the Seireitei; people did tend to get needlessly attached to family. Nevertheless, she brought the smile back to her lips easily, looking to Rosa and shaking her head. "I mean it! It's not false praise, your cooking is delicious." The Espada beamed at the woman, and this time her words were not actually far from the truth. She would never have been so exuberant about it, but the food that she had made for Lilith in the past had always been tempered to her tastes, and she did appreciate it. To the newcomers, she offered polite nods, and stood when Isaac entered the kitchen, grabbing a rag and running it under the sink. She rung out the excess water and returned to the boy, brushing the soot from him and wiping his face clean. He had already suggested to her the night before that he considered her motherly, so she figured she could continue to play that role as long as she needed to. "There. That's better. You aren't hurt, are you?" She looked concerned for his well being, but she maintained a soft smile on her face.

When Hinata fell to the floor, Lilith turned her attention there, eyes widening in feigned surprise. "Oh my." Rosa was the first to run over to the fallen Shinigami, the panic in her voice very evident. Lilith placed her hand gently against the other Espada's back, offering a gentle, reassuring smile to her. "Relax, Rosa." Before she could do it, Anapa had moved the woman to the couch, and she nodded at him to express her approval, appreciating his quickness to action. Lilith walked over toward the couch as well, standing behind Isaac. "She'll be fine." She gave the boy a reassuring smile. "I didn't know you two were related though! But I can see the resemblance with the white hair." She grinned and laughed, ruffling Isaac's hair, unintentionally shaking more soot to the floor.

Lilith shook her head to dismiss any ill will between her and Isaac, clearly not offended by his words or actions. She herself didn't like others touching her, so she understood his point of view easily. "It was me who was rude, I'm sorry, Isaac." She smiled at the boy and set the rag on the counter, glancing between Gnosche and Rosa as they exchanged words. She had not been aware that Rosa was looking for her father, mostly because so many of the Espada lacked parental connections. Family ties and personal bonds had been severed upon their death in their human lives for the majority of them, and even if Lilith had the option to reunite with anyone from her past she would not have cared to. She simply no longer felt any desire to connect with anyone on the same level that she had as a human, and she couldn't understand the loyalty Rosa seemed to have to her father just because they were related.

As for Gnoshe, she didn't care that the man was leaving. He was occasionally useful yes, but she was tired of his explosion disturbing her peace, and it wasn't as though she had ever considered him - or anybody else for that matter - a friend. Still, she pouted to feign concern and regret over her comrade leaving. "You're leaving?" For the moment, her gaze looked sad as though she really did feel something over his departure. "Stay safe, Gnosche! It was a pleasure to work beside you." She grinned and gave him a salute, winking and turning back to look at Hinata, catching her smile. 'Rest well.' If she were alone she may have indulged in a much more grotesque smile herself, but she maintained her soft, compassionate expression. 'Soon enough that smile of yours will be twisted in agony.'

The family dramas between what Rosa was looking for with Gnosche and Isaac and Hinata's connection weren't particularly interesting to the Cero Espada. She watched them all interact nevertheless, bored out of her mind but not overlooking an opportunity to soak up the information available to her. Isaac at the very least was a fun link to have to the Shinigami's chain of command. It truly was a shame that they had to send him back in one piece, and even more regretful that she wasn't going to be allowed a chance to devour him in front of his oh so doting mother. Not yet at least. Even though Rosa seemed to fear Jasmine, she herself did not. Sestran had fought with the woman and had fared more than well against her, so she was not concerned in the slightest. Besides, Lilith had tasted the fires of hell, there was nothing more painful the Shinigami could subject her to.

The Arrancar looked mildly amused at Hinata's choice of words but did not retort, turning to walk toward the table. "Rosa's right! There's still plenty of food to be eaten, let's not let her hard work go to waste." She smiled gently at those who had gathered and took her seat at the table once more.

She had spent all morning in the library, quietly walking amongst the aisles and removing books that caught her interest. Like her leader she seemed to have a knack for wanting to know anything and everything and soon she was pouring through page after page of the subject of her interest today: sign language. The idea of communicating through just hand motions was appealing to her. Rarely did she speak; not because she was shy or because she found it difficult to, but simply because she preferred not to. Often she found it ineffective anyway since it didn't matter what she chose to say if it could just as easily be ignored. Lifting her right hand, Lilith would go about practicing the formation of the alphabet until she had it memorized. From there she skimmed through the dictionary in her lap, looking for relevant words to her cause. 'Fight'. She lifted both her hands and extended her pinkies out, then tapped them together. 'Defend'. She balled her hands into fists and rocked them forward twice. 'Stop'. She flattened her left palm out and made a chopping motion on it with her right. 'Kill'. She'd hold her right hand vertically and slid her index finger across the palm. The concept of being able to convey her wishes with as little words as possible was immensely satisfying.

Familiar voices pulled her from her studies. Quite a few of her allies had decided to tag along to the Human World today, and while there was something a little unnerving about leaving Las Noches mostly unguarded, in the end Lilith justified her absence under the notion that it was just a palace that could be rebuilt if needed. So now the options were to join them or stay put. There was a certain comfort in being around her own kind, birds of a feather flock together after all. But knowing that both Carmellia and Rosa were there was a bit off-putting. They were far too touchy feely for her liking, and even though she had made it adamantly clear that she was extremely opposed to their advances, they seemed to take no heed. Yet, to not join them for that reason alone, would that imply that she was afraid? Frowning at this thought she would rise, her mind made up. The large dictionary of signs was pressed against her chest and she walked through the aisles, peeking her head around to glance at the gathered group.

It was interesting to see them like this, gathered like school children, dressed up in different outfits. She herself was far from the seductress she appeared as in Hueco Mundo, and wore the school's uniform. The only modification she had was a red scarf draped around her neck to conceal the hole permanently drilled into her flesh. Even still, a smirk adorned her lips and her eyes flashed almost mischievously. To pretend they didn't know each other, hm? It was kind of life a game.

"Pardon." Her voice was a whisper, the sweet chiming of bells, the swell of a symphony. There was something about it that made you want to listen to it more and more, to completely drown in it. "I hope you wouldn't mind me sitting here."


If only Lilith could read minds. She would actually be a little disheartened at the lack of trust Sestran seemingly had when it came to her. After all, she had no other agenda or power trip motivating her to overthrow him. He'd been the one to give her a home, and she'd be rather insulted to find her loyalty being questioned. With permission given from the rest of the group she would smile and nod, taking her seat next to the blonde. "There's not a particular subject I focus on." Setting the book down on the table she would begin flipping through the pages once more. "I'm fond of linguistics though. Do you know any sign language?" Resting her elbow on the table she would cup her face in her hand.

Noticing that Rosa was being distracted by something, Lilith would turn her head to glance in that direction. Noticing the dog at the window her eyebrows would raise an amused smirk on her lips. Well now it really was a party. Although was it getting too crowded? Too strange? She was not one to want to draw attention to herself unless it was necessary. Any sign of her presence being unwelcome and she would understand and dismiss herself. For now though, she would pretend to be aloof to the whole situation.

"Ah, I haven't introduced myself yet, have I?" Turning her attention back to the group gathered at the library she would offer them a smile. "I'm Lilith. Thank you very much for allowing me to join you." By playing this game, she'd already spoken more than she usually did back in Hueco Mundo.

Lilith's head would tilt a little and she brought her index finger to the corner of her lips at Sestran's question. "I'm not sure. Maybe the librarian could answer that question better." Personally she wasn't very well acquainted with the school her leader attended. This was one of the first times she had been here, usually preferring the less crowded venue of larger libraries. If this school actually did have a class that instructed how to use the language she was so curious about, she'd have to rethink how she spent her leisure time. "Sestran." The young woman would repeat the name as if it were foreign to her, her voice more of a purr. "The pleasure is mine."

Her attention was stolen away when Anapa found a way to get inside the school. Turning her head toward the door she would feign surprise at seeing such a strange creature. "How strange.. Not a dog, not a fox.. I'm not familiar with this species." Crimson eyes would glance over toward Ethan as he approached the group, shaking her head at the question. "How do you think he got in here?" Reaching her hand down she'd move her hand toward Anapa, pretending to take caution in letting him smell her hand before scratching him behind the ear.

For the most part the young woman had remind silent during the remaining verbal transactions, only nodding occasionally or offering a small smile. As Rosa and Carmellia went off to check the books out, Lilith would only place the book that she had been so interested in on top of the stack and lift her hand to wave goodbye to them. Already in this small interaction with the group she had talked more in a day than she did in most weeks, but she figured that her body motions would indicate to the two that she was leaving. It was left, obviously, unspoken that she would see them later back at Las Noches. The pink haired beauty would quickly exit the library, eventually exiting the school building all together.


The rooftop of the Karakura High School building tended to be Ilyse's ideal hunting spot when it came to her nightly duties. The reasoning she had justified to herself was that it offered her a great vantage point, which was certainly true. From this position she could see what was below her with incredible clarity. However, one of the reasons that she most likely camped out at her school every night was most likely for nostalgic reasons, although she would not admit it, even to herself. She'd appointed herself as a guardian of sorts for her school, warding off the Hollows that came close enough to interfere with the lives of the students who attended. Even though much of her peers were insufferable to her, she still held somewhat of a soft spot for them, though she pretended that this feeling was simply her obligation as their class leader. The emotions that drove her to action were actually quite complex, even if she wouldn't admit it even to herself.

For a few minutes now she had been in a semi-crouched position, one leg bent with her knee touching the ground, the other one lunged forward. Her bow was drawn, slowly gathering the reishi that she needed to fuel her deadly shots. Deep breaths in and out helped keep the sniper steady while she followed the movement of her target with sharp eyes. It was easily within her range, and when she felt that she had enough power behind her weapon to do the intended damage, she would release the arrow. As expected it would hit where she wanted it to, piercing the Hollow through the head, reducing it to dust before it could cry out. Huffing a quite sigh, Ilyse would straighten her body, stretching her limbs while scanning the area for more enemies. It was a fairly regular routine for her, and she'd spent many nights hunting the beasts that loomed around, only returning home quite a few hours past midnight. From there she would rise not long after and attend school. Perhaps then, the reason for her demeanor and actions was simply because she was sleep deprived. Or perhaps it really was just her personality.

A new movement on her left had Ilyse tense and armed in a flash, repeating the same semi-crouched position she had taken before. Deep blue eyes were narrowed, and she was quick to set her aim on the man approaching her. Still, her reasoning behind this wasn't necessarily killing intent. She'd never fought a Shinigami before, let alone gotten close enough to converse with one. The first humanoid target she had shot at had been the boy she had seen earlier with the Hollow reiatsu, and even that had left a sour taste in her mouth. After all, she'd dedicated herself to protecting humans, and so it was difficult to harm those who held similar appearances. Nevertheless, she was weary. The unknown was generally frightening for most, even if Ilyse did wear a brave face.

When he spoke, she would frown a little. "You may speak, but do not come any closer." She had no idea what the intentions of this stranger were, and if it came to combat, long distance was absolutely vital for her. Any closer than he was, and the Shinigami would start to have the upper hand. Any closer, and she would not hesitate to shoot.

The fact that he seemed to be acknowledging her preference of a distance between them was relieving. Ilyse's eyes would flicker to follow every movement the Shinigami made, from the way the moonlight shimmered on his fangs - did every Shinigami have fangs? - to the way he folding his arms up in his sleeve. At his question, the Quincy would shake her head. "No, you are the first Shinigami I have seen." This was, of course, only true if the boy she had shot at earlier was not a Shinigami, but something else entirely. Perhaps then, she was not speaking the entire truth. "There was a boy who seemed to me like a Shinigami, but he had Hollow reiatsu. I'm not sure if that will help you at all, but he was at the battle with the Hollow you mentioned." So long as Ilyse felt that she had the upper hand, so long as she felt like she was in control, she could be quite compliant. Nevertheless, she was tense. She had not been alive when the majority of her people had been wiped out, but she knew it to be the fault of Shinigami. A sense of distrust and hate had been instilled in her from a young age when it came to beings like those before her.

The Shinigami's introduction was surprising, but not entirely welcome. Honestly, she did care what his name or rank was. He was, for all intents and purposes, her enemy, and she wasn't going to become friendly with him any time soon. Neither did she feel any sympathy as to his plight of lost colleagues. If anything, it was actually good news to her, however cruel that sounded. Maybe it was about time the Shinigami got a taste of their own putrid medicine. Ilyse would not extend the same polite introduction that she had been offered. Even among other Quincy, she had never been one to share information about her. She liked the power that came with privacy, and very few had stared down one of her arrows and lived. When Nyhil mentioned the fact that anyone with spiritual pressure could be targeted, her mood would sour more. He sounded just like Hinanji! Granted, the Quincy leader was much more blatant with his words, but Ilyse took the comment about danger as a warning. And she was not particularly fond of warnings.

After all, it implied that she was not strong enough to handle herself, an idea that she did not appreciate, proud as she was. "Nyhil Dakkar. I could care less about the lives of Shinigami." The young woman's voice was practically deadpan at the start, but as she continued, anger crept into her tone. "Your warning is not welcome. I am perfectly capable of handling myself, even against creatures stronger than the ones I was fighting earlier. You'll receive no further assistance from me from this point on." With that stated, her stance would tense up again, arrow aimed at Nyhil. The apprehension she had been feeling before was gone now, blood boiling. "Either leave now, or I will force you to."  

[a.renee.w]

In any other setting, the comment he made about her demeanor not befitting a lady might have elicited a chuckle from the girl. There were many things she was concerned about when it came to her status, but that wasn't necessarily high up on the list. Her family had brought her up with table manners, of course, but much of her hardheadedness had been imparted on her from her father. Still, amusing as the words were, she was a bit too aggravated at the moment to reflect on any aspect of humor. Just as there was a change in her, however slight, there was a change in the Shinigami as well. The expression in his eyes had changed, and she would take his body language as an indication that he wasn't planning on backing down.

As it was, she was perfectly fine with that. Between her interaction with the Quincy group, the skirmish with the Hollow, and now this, she was in a sour mood. Working it off in such a way actually seemed quite appealing to her. As to what authority she had when it came to Karakura High, technically she held none. She was the President of the Student Council, but she certainly didn't own the place. Nevertheless, she'd appointed herself as the guardian of the school, so she felt justified in staking somewhat of a claim on it. Still, she wouldn't argue with the Shinigami on that fact. "Isn't it rude to pester a lady when it's clear she's no longer interested?" This was the closest she could get to any sort of joke given the situation, but her voice was completely serious. Breathing out slowly, reishi would pour into her bow, her finger would twitch, and a millisecond later a volley of numerous arrows was sent in Nyhil's direction.

"Licht Regen!"

The young woman's eyes would flicker to follow Nyhil's movements as he jumped from post to post after her arrows were fired. She hadn't expected him to be overwhelmed from just that; Licht Regen could engulf an enemy completely if the wielder was powerful enough, but Ilyse had not progressed with the technique enough to yield such results. It was enough to destroy a Hollow with ease, but she had suspected that it would take more when dealing with a Shinigami. Still, she would try her best to maintain her distance if she could. For now she opted to retain her position on the roof, since it offered a sturdy platform beneath her and she could still see Nyhil very clearly. When he went to release his blade - his zanpakuto - as she remembered the specific term to be, she too would begin to set up her own offensive measures. One of the ornaments that adorned her headpiece would begin to glow vibrantly, and she pumped reishi that she had taken from gasoline into her bow.

The color of her bow would begin to change from a bright blue to one that almost seemed green, the two colors overlapping and radiating like the Aurora Borealis. With her left hand she held her bow in place, and her right hand delved into her pocket, quickly removing a lighter. Her thumb flicked over it, and she brought it to her weapon, igniting it into flames the second the two touched. By now the once glowing part of her headpiece had dulled, and it seemed much darker compared to the rest of them. The flames licked at the girl's gloves, not burning the material but still singing her hands. The fire lit up the area around her, and her eyes were alight with the new source of vibrant illumination.

If she wasn't careful enough, she could damage her skin quite severely with this technique. The gasoline infused weapon was not one that she could use for more than a minute or two, and even that would cause her quite a bit of harm. Human skin was rather fragile after all. With the bow a little enhanced now, she would train her eyes back on her target, glancing over his now gauntlet covered hands. She was vaguely aware that not all zanpakutos resembles swords when they were released, a concept that was always a bit strange to her. It seemed impractical and like it might get confusing to keep track of such unreliable weapons.

A slight smirk played at the edge of Ilyse's lips at his comment. It wasn't often that fights stimulated her like this. Her father was never merciful or even slightly playful when they trained, and no Hollow had ever had any sense of humor. She had her own quips to give while she lined up her aim. She'd noticed the way that he had laughed when her arrow had pierced her, it was certainly not a normal reaction. "My, my. A bit of a masochist are we?" For this, her mouth actually had quirked up into a smirk. After this comment she would release several arrows, some aimed directly at Nyhil, others aimed near his feet at the light post itself. These arrows, should they actually hit anything, would burn the material it came in contact with for about half a minute unless it was put out.

As the speed of Nyhil's movements increased, Ilyse would disperse the flames around her bow, letting the gasoline infused reishi leak from her bow until it was a vivid bright blue once more. She'd attempt to keep him in her sights, but her aim was always a second off, so that every arrow she sent at him disappeared into the darkness of the school grounds. "Tch." Speed had never been a weakness for her, so why was it now? Perhaps it was simply the ignorance she held for battle. The only real experiences she had when it came to fights was against large, sluggish Hollow and her father. Neither of which had ever carried the same consequences that something like this did. For a moment Ilyse was reminded of the weight of her cell phone in her pocket. There was always an option to call Hinanji; she'd memorized his number after reading it over a few times. She'd always been gifted in the area of booksmarts after all. Almost as soon as the thought was formed, it was dismissed, pride winning out over any bit of fear she might have. 'Get it together.'

At the very least she had succeeded in hitting him with one of her flaming arrows, and she momentarily moved her gaze away from him, distracted for a brief second as he tossed his outer coat away. She could hear the garment hissing from her position, but she didn't recognize the noise as the familiar sound of clothing burning. 'It's dissolving?' Simply glancing at this for a moment was enough for Nyhil to have closed the distance between them. The girl's eyes would widen, and she'd immediately begin to pull back, another ornament on her head piece starting to glow, coating her blade in a bright white light while another substance filled it. 'He's fast!' Given her current situation, she didn't have a moment to reflect or fire back a comment to fuel their banter, and as it was she had barely heard what he had said, too preoccupied with securing an escape.

Unfortunately for her, when it came to close combat there was little she could do. It was especially unfortunate for her that her opponent happened to excel in that area. She'd only managed to place one leg back, the other still in the midst of moving behind her, when the swipe at her hip connected. It was only because of her slight push back that the claws wouldn't cut deeper, but a few of them still connected, tearing at her uniform and leaving bleeding cuts in its place. Ilyse hissed as the pain registered, cursing under her breath. A moment after that the girl would fire an arrow, this one not directed at Nyhil, but at the floor beneath her. The area around them would become engulfed in a thick white mist, buying the Quincy a few more seconds to make her escape so that she could separate herself from her opponent. Leaping up from the roof, she would utilize a series of flash steps to place her up in the foliage of a tree several feet away.

Taking a moment to catch her breath, Ilyse would wince and press her hand to her hip, feeling the blood slipping through the finger tips. Glancing at it, she could see that it wasn't too bad, but it certainly did sting. Other than that, she didn't see anything that she really had to be worried about. For a moment she could have sworn that she had seen something burrowing into her skin, but she dismissed this as a simply seeing things that weren't there due to the stress of the moment. She'd wouldn't wait for the fog she had created to disperse before trying to aim again. She brought her bow up, ready to utilize Licht Regen once more, since it had the highest chance of hitting Nyhil without proper aim. 'I hope he's okay.' Ilyse's body would jolt a moment after she thought this, looking as though she'd been physically slapped across the face. No, she certainly did not hope that! Those were not her thoughts at all! 'What..?' By now she realized that her arms were shaking, and the more she tried to will herself to shoot her arrows, the more she seemed to tremble, seemingly unable to attack her opponent, locked in a mental battle with herself. It was certainly strange and frustrating to simultaneously want to fight and protect somebody at the same time. 'Come on!'

Although she would not admit it beyond just a brief thought to herself, Ilyse was actually relieved to see Eliana step in. She hadn't been wounded or really pressured that much physically, but the battle was taking a toll on her mental state the longer it progressed. From the beginning she'd been fine with the playful banter they'd been dancing around, but it has escalated into something that certainly seemed much darker now, and it was frightening. Perhaps more than that, what was bothering her was that she seemed unable to fire at Nyhil. She had certainly never had this problem before in a battle. When it came to Hollows she did not show any bit of mercy, so why was she so hesitant now? Was it because Shinigami held similar appearances to the humans she was so keen on protecting? This could be rationalized somewhat, but then again, she had been able to target him just fine a few minutes before. What had happened that now made Ilyse want to defend him instead?

The girl managed to catch what Nyhil had been saying before he had been interrupted by Eliana joining the battle. '..Antidote?' Her eyes would widen at this, and she glanced down toward her injured hip. 'It must have happened then..' Something about the Shinigami's zanpakuto had managed to alter her emotional responses to the events unfolding. That was, of course, not completely true, but it was a solid guess given the information she had. Either way, knowing that she had been tainted in some way was not reassuring in the slightest. The young woman had yet to disperse her bow, still watching the battle through the eyes of an archer.

From her vantage point it was easy to see where the two combatants were, even with the fog she had created. The bow's aim shifted from Nyhil to Eliana, and before she could really understand what she was doing, or why, she began drawing in reishi. When the other woman launched her crystal studded attack, Ilyse would attempt to counter it with Licht Regen. The myriad bright blue arrows was launched less than a second after Eliana's own attack, and Ilyse aimed to cancel out several of the crystal shots while also trying to hit the now kimono clad woman. But the moment after she did this she would realize just what she had done. She had interfered on behalf of the Quincy in order to protect him. The idea of such a thing made her furious! Whatever he had done to her had stripped her of her own agency and freewill, the thing that had always been most important to her.

Dispersing her bow, Ilyse would slam a trembling fist into the trunk of the tree beside her. 'Damn him!' She'd squeeze her eyes shut, shaking her head and trying to gather herself. Now that she had been manipulated into actions that were not her own, she was absolutely gunning for revenge. Nyhil would pay for having controlled her.

Since it was apparent to her that watching the battle was not a wise decision - since she didn't want to intervene to help the Shinigami again - she would have to leave most of the fighting to Eliana. Still, though, she was certainly not going to count herself out. Standing up, she would flash step back toward the roof, ignoring the fact that her leg seemed to be numb. Since Nyhil and Eliana were preoccupied with each other, she hoped that her process would go unnoticed. Removing a Seele Schneider, the young woman would slam it into the ground beneath her before flash stepping away once more.

t was after flash stepping to her next position on the roof to continue her set up that Ilyse realized that something was wrong with her leg. When she settled in one place, it collapsed beneath her, forcing her to tumble rather ungracefully a few feet from her initial target. Sitting up quickly, the girl would glance toward the battle, which had surprisingly drawn to a close with Eliana yielding. Ilyse had dug the phone out of her pocket, and was already dialing Hinanji's number when she realized there was no longer a need for it and sighed, sliding it back into its place. As humiliating as it was, the battle was over. She wasn't sure that she would have been able to finish it like Eliana had; her personality generally prevented her from simply stopping her aggressive actions once she got started. It was only for the other woman's sake that she would swallow her pride. Pushing herself up, Ilyse would support her weight on a single leg, but remained standing where she was, since she could not walk and did not wish to embarrass herself further by displaying such.

Crossing her arms over her chest, she'd call out to Nyhil, since he was not too far away from her. "Will I regain use of my leg without your method of healing?" The night had been shameful for her, she didn't want to make it worse by having her enemy bite her. She was still rather angry at what he had done to her, more so how he had manipulated her emotions than how he had injured her physically. Redirecting her gaze toward Eliana, the young woman's scowl would soften. She recalled that she had referred to her as "family" and it had actually been somewhat.. touching. Nobody in her actually family would have stepped in for her in a situation like this, since they were very much sink or swim.

When Hinanij appeared, Ilyse would noticeably stiffen, immediately adopting a more haughty post. Back straight and chin up, she only met his gaze for a moment before looking away. The fact that he had been watching made the situation all the more embarrassing. Between Eliana's interference (although she was grateful) and his surveillance, it almost seemed like nothing she did was truly on her own. If Eliana hadn't stepped in, and if the fight had continued (which is would have considering Ilyse's temper), then the Quincy leader would have interrupted at some point. And even though the man's chastising was not directed at her, she would offer a retort. "Eliana stepped in on my behalf. I caused the altercation, she was the one who brought it to a peaceful end." The attempt to stand up for the other woman may have seemed strange. In a way, Ilyse had admitted that she had not been completely in the right, something that was certainly damaging to her pride. But the woman's care and demeanor had left an impression on her, and she could see the similarities between them. It was perhaps for this reason that she felt the need to shoulder the blame.

This was somewhat ironic considering her relationship with Hinanji. The man had been nothing but polite to her, and even seemed to care more so than her own family. In fact, the physical resemblance between them was uncanny. The man could have easily passed for her father. They bore the same pale skin, blue twinged ebony hair, and lanky qualities. Hinanji had even had a similar personality to her own when he had been younger, although Ilyse had no way of knowing this. Still, her relationship with him had always been strained; she was more concerned about proving her worth to his group and the Quincy race as a whole than she was with actually kindling friendships.

As for the Shinigami.. The young woman's eyes flashed to glance at him as he spoke. 'A week?!' His explanation left her two options then, both equally horrifying to the egotistic girl. Remain incapacitated for a week, or suffer through the humiliation of having Nyhil bite her leg. The first option meant that she would have to hobble around the school on crutches or be rolled around in a wheel chair; not a good image for her domineering Student Council President reputation. It also meant she wouldn't be able to train or fight for a weak, leaving her more vulnerable. Not to mention that her family had no room for the incapacitated. The other meant that she would be forced to allow her enemy to get close to her. Since she had learned that he had been messing with her emotions in some way, her dislike for him had increased almost to the point of loathing. Their banter had been fun in the beginning, but her freewill was the most precious thing she had, and he had infringed on that. Accepting his help would be like a slap in the face, and even the thought of it made her blood boil.

Still, when it came down to it, it was unfortunately the lesser of two evils. Taking a deep breath, Ilyse would sigh. "Fine. Come heal me then." She crossed her arms over her chest and turned her head away from the group, hoping that nobody would noticed the shade of red her cheeks had now taken.

It wasn't often that Ilyse ate her lunch with another student, but today the Student Council's Secretary - Sachi - has brought her a warm cup of tea, and she felt it would have been rude to decline her invitation. She bundled herself back into her jacket, gloves, and scarf, idly chatting with her about classes and midterms and such as they made their way to the roof. Stepping outside, what was supposed to be a pleasant view of freshly fallen snow was immediately disrupted by a regretfully familiar face. The young woman's immediate response, as usual, was combative. Her hand twitched, instinct telling her to go for the cross in her pocket to activate her bow, reason telling her that this wasn't possible at the time, especially with Sachi beside her. Instead, the small jerk caused her to squeeze her cup of tea, forcing some of it to overflow and spill down the side. "You." She hissed the word, mist forming from her breath like a dragon. Sachi stopped mid-sentence and shifted her focus to Nyhil, looking curiously between him and Ilyse. Taking in a slow deep breath, Ilyse tried to force herself to calm down, knowing that making a scene would be alarming and confusing. "Sorry, Sachi. This is an old.." She ground her teeth together, but her voice came out as normal as it usually was. "Friend. I'm going to have to take a rain check on lunch today, but I'll make it up to you this weekend." The other girl was thankfully understanding of the situation. "Oh, um, sure! No problem! I'll see you later, but introduce me to your friend sometime!" Ilyse's mouth canted up the smallest amount, a poor attempt at a forced smile as she waved to the parting Sachi. As soon as she was gone though, Ilyse pivoted, turning to Nyhil with pure venom in her eyes.

"Why are you here?!" The battle she'd had with him not too long ago had been somewhat entertaining until it had become completely humiliating. Freedom was one of the most important things in her life, and she hadn't taken kindly to how his weapon had manipulated her emotions while they had fought. The fact that she knew she would have lost had the fight continued longer was even more embarrassing, not to mention that Hinanji had been watching her as if she needed a babysitter. So while Nyhil held their previous encounter in a positive light, it was nothing but a bitter memory of failure for her. To add insult to injury... "It was you who put those flowers in my house, right?!" It was like salt on an open wound. For him to not only have won their fight, but to have deliberately gone to where she had lived? She was under the assumption that he had followed her there at some point, and had found the time to break in when it had been empty. And while her mother had found it slightly endearing in a misguided way, it had thoroughly unsettled her. She didn't understand his motives. Was he gloating? Trying to express power over her in some way? Explaining the situation to her father had been even more of a mess. She'd never really been one for keeping secrets, and relaying the fact that she had lost to a Shinigami who now knew where she lived had earned her a slap across the face she swore still stung. "Do not ever go near my home again!"

At this point, Ilyse was struggling to keep her voice down, her free hand balled into a fist as though she were ready to snap and swing at any given moment. Her other hand remained gripping the cup of tea securely, but her body shook so much that much of the liquid had continued to spill down her hand and into the snow beneath her.  

[a.renee.w]

He wanted to see her? As simple as his reasoning was, she didn't understand it. Enemies didn't go out of their way to hang out with each other. As it was, Ilyse barely ever interacted with other Quincy, let alone any Shinigami. Even though Hinanji had stated that Nyhil wasn't a threat, she begged to differ. He was a force who had shaken her confidence, and a presence in her life that was growing ever more alarming. She listened, bewildered, as he completely misinterpreted why she was upset. In fact, his reply was so shocking that she was left speechless for a few moments, trying to process his words. There was no way he was serious, right? At this point, she was quick to assume he was toying with her. "Is this a joke to you?!" Blood boiling, she felt her heart beat erratically in her chest, and it took every bit of willpower she had not to strike out. If it weren't for the fact that school was in session, she probably would have. Someone less quick to anger might have explained that no, she didn't need nor want more flowers, that she didn't care about the color, and that she didn't have hay fever. Perhaps they could have taken the time to explain that entering somebody's house without their permission was an invasion of privacy, considered rude and disturbing. But Ilyse had never been good at expression emotions or communicating in general, and she was much quicker to fury than to understanding.

When he spoke so nonchalantly about her home, she felt a shiver pass through her. Now she was sure he was just playing with her. That for some reason, he was hellbent on extending her torture as long as possible. Him telling her to calm down was something that would only ever have an opposite effect, and she was about to launch into a series of threats when he moved closer and wrapped a handkerchief around her hand. "Don't touch me!" Ilyse's free hand smacked Nyhil's away, and she dropped the cup of tea, using the new found freedom to shove him back as hard as she could. She herself took several steps back, a multitude of emotions evident in her widened eyes. Anger, mostly, but fear was a close second. Her response, although instinctive, was embarrassing to her. It made her seem weak, as though she had backed down from a fight because she was scared she could not win. Her body had activated her fight or flight response, but if she could not fight because of the other students, and if she could not run because of her own pride, then what was she to do?

If the hot liquid had burned her, Ilyse seemed to give no indication of it. Her sole attention was on the man in front of her, watching his every move like a hawk. The situation was all the more confusing to her when he seemed to express concern over her wellbeing, pointing out that she was pale and that he didn't want to see her hurt. Was this just more of the charade or was he being serious? It was immensely difficult to tell with him; he seemed completely different now than he had during their battle, and she was aware that he could alter emotions. Was that the case now? 'No, pull it together. You're the one in control here.' The brief mental pep talk was enough to snap the girl a little more back to herself. This was a battle, it just wasn't one in which she could use physical means to get ahead. As long as she believed she was in combat though, her fear could be better masked by the only other emotion she expressed as vividly: confidence.

Straightening her stance, she'd pull the tea soaked glove from her hand and stuff it in her pocket, momentarily gripping her Cross for reassurance. Yes, if it came down to it, she could fight. Nyhil had beaten her last time, but she had not been taking a vacation for a month. Her training rarely ceased, and she only continued to grow stronger with each passing day. Crossing her arms over her chest, she returned once more to her haughty demeanor. "It seems you do not understand. Even if Hinanji and the other Quincies consider the Shinigami allies, I will only ever see you as an enemy." Her eyes were back to a look she was more accustomed to, shifting from the doe-eyed appearance of prey to those of a hunter. "If you try to come near my house again, and if you come to my school again, I will not hesitate in trying to kill you." As long as she believed what she was saying herself, Ilyse could believe it. In reality, this was a threat she would not be able to uphold unless she went to the most extreme of measures with her powers. "Keep your distance from me, Nyhil Dakkar. Do I make myself clear?"

Despite the question, she left next to no room for a response. Turning away from the Shinigami, she'd exit the roof top to return inside. At this point there was still time for lunch, but she had lost her appetite.

Never before had she wanted to destroy something so much. Nyhil, of course, would have been the target of choice, but at this point she would have taken anything: Hollow, a poor undeserving tree, a wall. She'd never ditched school before, but today the idea was looking incredibly appealing. In fact, it probably would have been better for her peers if she had decided to go home; one wrong look as she was going to snap. Luckily for them, Ilyse's current appearance kept them out of her way. She made her way through the halls like a bullet train, fists clutched at her sides, huffing, muttering to herself, face flushed with anger. Sure, students had seen her annoyed before, but she had never come across this angry before, she practically exuded murder, and they were quick to pull themselves from her path. She wasn't even sure where she was going at this point, she just knew she had to be anywhere else but up on the roof with Nyhil. Muscle memory lead her down toward the library, and she flung the door open with much more force than necessary, stalking in and only taking a brief moment to glance around the room. It was relatively empty, save for a handful of students who were either reading or chatting quietly to each other.

The temporary solution to her problem was to grab a scrap piece of paper and ball it up in her hands. She distanced herself from the rest of the people inside, moving to an empty corner and promptly chucking the piece of the paper at the wall as hard as she could. It was not the most satisfying of feelings, but it was at least an outlet in which she could channel her anger and not endanger her classmates or the infrastructure of her school. Scooping the wadded up paper again, she'd repeat the process. "Stupid!" Thhck! "Shini! Thhck! "Gami!" Thhck! Her voice was strained in a harsh whisper, and it wasn't until she was slightly out of breath that she would stop and tear the paper up over a trash can. The process was slightly therapeutic. Still, it was not a permanent solution to her problem, and her anger lingered even as she moved away from the corner she was in, walking over to the librarian's desk, a heavy book in her hand. She'd been meaning to address this for a while. Slamming the book down onto the desk, Ilyse hoped to rouse Ethan from a peace that she could not attain so easily. "Wake up." The command was practically growled, her anger channeled to a new outlet. "Your spiritual energy has been leaking all day. Learn to control yourself, or leave."

Causing Ethan physical harm hadn't been Ilyse's main intention with the book, but it wasn't something she would feel guilty about. After all, this was the same boy she had shot an arrow at simply because she had not wanted to take orders. His apology was met with a blank stare, a scowl pursed on her lips. It had been more than a month since she had seen this boy last, and it seemed as though he had not improved in the slightest. What had he been doing all this time? "I do not care if you draw dangerous creatures to yourself, but you put the student population at risk here. Figure out the solution to your problem or I w- uevvuvv." Speaking of endangering the student population.. A shudder ran through Ilyse at the sound of Nyhil's voice, much akin to how one might react to the sound of nails on a chalk board. Her eye twitched, and the open palm that rested on the book immediately curled into a fist. She had expected to run into him again at some point, but she had hoped it would have been at least a day, maybe a week.. a month.. a year.. forever.. before they had to meet face to face. Not five minutes. For a moment, Ilyse's head remained bent, her hair falling over her eyes and casting a shadow. "Yes, there is something bothering me." Her voice seemed as though she was forcing it to remain calm and steady. This was a library after all! She had manners! "It's you!" Well, so much for manners.

With her words, Ilyse snapped her head up again, pointing her finger at Nyhil's chest. A second later, the same hand grabbed at his shirt collar in an attempt to yank his body up slightly. While this would have worked out a lot better if Nyhil was shorter, she didn't seem to care that she only came up to his shoulders in the heat of the moment. To compensate for her height, she shifted her weight to the front of her feet, raising herself up on her toes. Bright blue eyes met his own unnatural red ones, and she could only hope that the hatred she conveyed there was enough to finally make him understand. "If you want to resolve my problem, then you will leave."

When Ethan told her not to yell, Ilyse's gaze flickered to him, narrowed and burning with indignation. He was quick to leave those, and her attention fell once more to Nyhil, her eyes widening slightly when he remarked that running away was not a solution to her problems. What she had seen as dismissal toward him, he had taken as running away?! The shocked look on her face lasted on a second before she defaulted back to her angry expression,her grip around his collar tightening. "I don't run from anything!" She wasn't screaming at this point, but her voice wasn't quiet either, and it seemed to fall into a category of aggressive hissing. On one hand, this was true. When it came to physical fights, she was not one to back down at all, and she was much more afraid of the idea of failing than of actually dying. But when it came to her personal relationships, she did tend to distance herself as much as possible. She didn't speak to her mother than much, and generally held a disdainful view of her family. Her upbringing had been filled with combat, and she had been taught that emotions were something that were supposed to be discarded on the battlefield. It was why she didn't have any close friends at school, it was why she chose to ostracize herself from the other Quincy. And yet.. 'Do they all think I'm just.. Running away?' This personal battle was, ironically, one Ilyse was not ready to face at the given moment, but it seemed as though Nyhil had struck a nerve.

If his closeness made her uncomfortable, it certainly didn't show. Ilyse had started this, and she was not going to be the one to back away. But he was asking why he had upset her now, and she took a moment to consider his questions and statements, eyes narrowing again not in anger but in contemplation. She was impulsive, yes, and obviously quick to anger but she was not completely ignorant when it came to reading other people. Perhaps there was some truth to his confusion, and even though she wan't going to admit she was wrong, she could see some benefit in approaching the situation more rationally. It didn't mean she still wasn't pissed off, she was simply going to try to not let it control her anymore. Nyhil's questions should have been an easy one to answer. For her, it all came back to the fact that she had felt humiliated. Him beating her would have been hard enough to deal with, but Eiliana stepping in on her behalf, and knowing that Hinanji had been watching her just made the situation all the more embarrassing. She didn't know who else to blame for the feeling, so she blamed Nyhil.

But Ilyse would not even tell her family that she felt ashamed, so she was certainly not going to convey this to a man she still considered her enemy. It was, to her, a weakness. And those were not supposed to be displayed. But she couldn't remain silent here since not having an explanation would make her seem irrational. "When we fought, you altered my emotions. For a second, you made me fight for you. I value my freedom more than anything else in this world." She took a deep breath before continuing. "And then you broke into my house. I don't know how it works in the Seireitei, but here it's an extreme violation of privacy." The words she spoke made it seem as though she were acting much more rational, but her voice was still strained and barely holding back the anger she felt. "Does it make sense now why you offended me?"

So close to him it was not hard to miss the look in Nyhil's eye, even if it was only for a fleeting moment. The expression contained there was familiar, and Ilyse recognized it immediately as the same one he had when she had battled with him a little over a month ago. It was a temporary moment of confusion for her, and for a few seconds she wasn't sure how to take it. Since she had first encountered him today, she had thought that he was toying with her, and that his politeness was just a ruse to hide his true personality. But what if it wasn't? Her head tilted ever so slightly, brows furrowed like she was examining a difficult problem. "You change in combat." For the first time since lunch had started, her voice was quiet and reflective, and her grip on Nyhil loosened a little. Sure, some people became more serious when they began fighting, but this didn't seem as simple as that. Seemingly lost in thought, it was only when he spoke again that she refocused completely on the current situation.

His words had validity to them, but to Ilyse there was no such thing as "simply combat". It was what she lived and breathed, and it was only there that she felt she was able to carve out some sort of meaning to her existence. Internally, she struggled over whether or not she'd prefer Nyhil to use his full abilities if they fought again. If she took him up on his offer to handicap himself, then she couldn't be truly satisfied if she managed a victory. So, even though she had just complained about it.. "No. When we fight again, I don't want anything held back. There's no point in it otherwise." And yes, it was not a question of if they would fight again, but when. At this point, Ilyse was starting to calm down a little more, and almost lifted the corner of her mouth at the word 'cad'. Who talked like that anymore? For a second, the tables were flipped with the Quincy being the one who was amused and Nyhil disgruntled. That was until he dropped the bomb on how he had gotten into her house.

"My mother let you in?!" Her voice was shrill, a mixture of horror, anger, and disbelief. Internally, she sulked. She'd never had a friend come over to her house before, so why hadn't her mother seen that as suspicious?! 'Mother, you traitor!' Really, her mother had been surprised to say the least. But Lorelei had been so excited at the potential of her daughter making any semblance of a friend that she had been more than happy to let Nyhil in. Especially since he came bearing flowers.

Although most people did tend to change their mannerisms in battle, Ilyse could be considered an exception to the pattern. To her it seemed as though everything was a battle, and the way she acted in a fight was the same she acting at home. If she was less hard headed, she might have realized that her words were confusing. One of the biggest reasons she was so angry at Nyhil was because he had momentarily taken away her free will, but here she was telling him that she would prefer subjection to it again when it came down to it. His next words were a slap in the face. The disarray over her mother's backstabbing was pushed to the side as her battle prowess was called into question. It was nearly the final straw to the girl's barely contained rage. In an instant she had pulled the cross from her pocket, and it dangled from her hand for a second before dissipating and transforming into her bow. The weapon itself truly was a beauty, almost delicate looking with the shards of crystals that studded out from what appeared to be the antlers of a deer. When Ilyse held it straight, it was nearly as tall as she was. "If you're so confident in what you say, then prove it!"

Almost as quickly as her weapon had formed, she produced an arrow and had it pulled back ready to fire. She took the proper stance, feet spread to steady herself, upper body turned slightly to face Nyhil, hips perpendicular to her target. Her eyes stared intently, burning brightly with the fire of vexation. Even if he had meant his words to be reassuring and genuinely helpful, it had been an attack on her pride that she could not leave unpunished. She would make him eat his words, and she would prove that she could be stronger than he was. Ilyse's arm twitched, body trembling slightly as she attempted to hold back her attack for just a few seconds longer. She wanted to fight him more than anything, but.. 'If I do this now, the other students will be in danger..' For an instant, she wanted to disregard them, she wanted to be selfish and heartless. This was her life, and she didn't want to think about the consequences of what would happen when she behaved with only herself in mind. So then, why did she hesitate?

It was because her thoughts drifted to Sachi Noriaki, the school Secretary who had brought her tea, and who sometimes studied with her, and walked to school beside her. It was because she thought of the pair in her class who passed notes and doodles to each other when they knew the teacher wasn't looking. It was because of the boy who had bandaged another student's knee when they had scraped it. But why did she care?! They were weak! If they got hurt, it was only their own fault for not being strong enough to look out for themselves. But they were also humans, ignorant of the complexities of the world around them, and while she despised weak people, she had simultaneously made it her mission to protect them. "Tch!" Ilyse squeezed her hand into a fist, her weapon and the arrow disappearing back into her cross, which she tucked back into her pocket. "Not now. After school, when the other students have gone. I want a rematch."  

[a.renee.w]

In a rare moment of acknowledgement for another person's opinion, Ilyse nodded at Nyhil's suggestion to bring the fight elsewhere. "There's an old construction site a few miles from the city. It's abandoned, so we won't have to worry about interruptions." This time, she didn't want anyone to step in on her behalf or spectate her battle, and in this location, they could both go all out without any concern over destroying things. Thinking this over for a second, Ilyse addressed Ethan. "That includes you. This is between me and him." The boy had been listening for much of their conversation, and she didn't want an audience during her rematch. When Nyhil reached up to touch the gems that dangled from her headpiece, she was quick to grab his wrist, pushing his hand back into his chest and using the force to distance him from her.

It should have seemed obviously that somebody like Ilyse would object to someone touching her or her property without permission. "Keep your distance." It was a warning and an order. The system she had created had been a labor of love, something entirely her idea and she had poured her soul into it in order to have it come to fruition. Despite the power it granted her, it was incredibly fragile, but it wasn't something she was going to admit so easily, especially to an enemy. "I did create it. And I don't ever put myself in a position in battle that would allow them to become scratched."

Ilyse crossed her arms over her chest, smirking slightly. While the comment was true - she was a long distance fighter, and no Hollow had ever gotten close to her - it was almost a challenge. It seemed somewhat as if she were saying.. 'Try it if you can!' When the bell announcing the lunch period was over, she felt relieved, and she walked away from the two, purposefully clipping Nyhil's shoulder with her own in a final display of aggression as she passed.

Actually landing her attack came as a surprise to Ilyse. It wasn't as if she had lacked confidence in her ability, she had just never actually punched someone before. Hitting a target with an arrow was one thing, but connecting fist to flesh was something that had been impossible to her before now and it was immensely satisfying. Her hit followed through, and she stumbled forward a couple of steps with the momentum before correcting herself to a more balanced position. Her breath came out harder than it had before, a mixture of her exertion from the energy she had used during the snowball fight, the anger that had built up inside of her, and the punch she had just thrown. Clouds of white billowed from her with each exhale, seemingly more apparent than they had been before. Her eyes shifted to glare down at him from his crouched position, still content with the blood dripping from his nose but wishing that she would have knocked him to the ground.

The adrenaline that coursed through her body made it easier to ignore the dull throbbing of her hand. "It was a game! None of them needed a punishment in the first place!" If Ilyse made it through the day without having some sort of high blood pressure issue, it would truly be a miracle. Anger was a default expression for her, but she certainly yelled a lot more at the Shinigami than she had at nearly anyone else. She shook her head, small drops of water falling from her damp hair with the movement. She was going to continue, but she got distracted watching the process of Nyhil's regeneration, disappointed that a punch she had thrown everything into had not maintained lasting damage.

Ilyse opened her mouth as though she were going to say something else, but the bell rang and she turned her attention toward the school building. Turning away from Nyhil, she picked up her school bag and walked off to class without another word. Her temper did not cool until after she had walked inside and up the three fights of stairs to the chemistry class room. The look in her eyes had shifted from fury to exhaustion, considering how lively her morning had been. It really wasn't something she was used to. Sighing silently, she nodded to Valenar in greeting, moving to take her seat near the front. From her position seated next to her, Sachi raised her hand in a small wave to the girl, smiling. "Good morning!" She'd give the same treatment to Nyhil, extending her hand to the new student. "Hi, I'm Sachi Noriaki! It's nice to meet you!"

"I'm good, thank you!" Sachi laughed when Nyhil added the "miss" part to her name, and easily struck up a conversation with him. She asked a couple of questions about what Italy was like and requested that he speak the language if he was able, applauding quietly at whatever he said even though she hadn't the slightest clue as to what it meant. It was an odd trio for sure; Nyhil, Sachi, and Ilyse. The latter seemed completely opposite to her happy-go-lucky "friends", and while they chattered she had not said a word, silently unpacking her things to get ready for class, as serious and focused as ever. She set her gaze on Valenar, watching him take a drink from the flask he always carried, but today not giving him a dirty look. Instead, she almost looked sympathetic and understanding, as if to say: '..I get it now.'

The two Quincy actually had quite a lot in common. Both enjoyed chemistry, both were considered the weakest of their respective families, both were subjected to cruelty because of their lack of ability, and both wanted to kick Vazena Ashmere's a**. They were birds of a feather for sure, and Ilyse tolerated him more than the others of her race. She stopped tapping her pencil quietly against her papers when he called her name, and nodded, looking relieved at any excuse to put more distance between her and Nyhil. Before she could gather her things to move though, Nyhil had leaned forward to whisper to her, his breath tickling her skin and sending a shiver down her spine. She drew in a sharp breath, one hand moving to grip the side of her desk, the other snapping her pencil in half.

"No, we are not." Her response to Sachi's question overlapped with Nyhil's, and she turned her head back to glare at Nyhil. Sure enough, it had been foolish of her to expose her back to a Shinigami. While the class gossiped, Ilyse stood up, grabbing her bag and moving toward Valenar's desk, even more thankful now because more than anything she wanted to wrap her hands around Nyhil's throat and strangle him. Unfortunately, school rules restricted her from doing so, she she forced herself to swallow down her anger for now, vowing to pay it forward ten fold later. "Please start class, Sensei." The woman spoke through gritted teeth before taking her new seat, opening an envelope that contained the tests the students had taken the week before so she could begin grading, trying to put all of her focus into this so that she no longer had to think about anything or anyone else.

Ilyse attempted to tune out the classroom as she ran over the tests, pausing to mark incorrect answers with red ink. She didn't need to double check the answer key since all of her answers had been correct and she knew how to work through them. Their test had been on isomers, diastereomers, enantiomers, and chair confirmations: essentially what determined the energy associated with compounds and their relationships when shifted or put in a mirror image. The only problem with grading something like that was that there was more than one way to write the answer correctly, and concentrating on which way people had drawn their wedges or hashes was difficult with Nyhil staring at her. She didn't glance up to confirm this, of course, but based on the way her skin was crawling she was certain he was. Once more, Valenar offered her his assistance, and while she wasn't thrilled with being indebted to him, she was thankful. She sighed when Nyhil got called up to introduce himself, setting down her pen and placing her head in her hands for the moment. It was barely 8 A.M. and she already had a headache.

His introduction started off fine in the beginning; she could care less what story he had made up to blend in with the human crowd, but his final words almost pushed her past the tipping point. Her chair scraped against the floor loudly as it was shoved back, and Ilyse stood both arms at the front of the desk looking as though she was about to hop over it. Honestly, if Valenar had not positioned himself between the pair, she most likely would have followed through with the movement so that she could try to fight Nyhil here and now, school rules damned. "Willst du mich veräppeln?!" In her rage, she slipped into her native German tongue, expressing her disbelief through gritted teeth while her classmates broke into whispers. There was only so much of this Ilyse could take, especially since she had no other outlet to channel her anger into other than fighting and she couldn't do that here. "Ich werde ihn zu töten.." Her head hung down slightly so that her bangs covered her face, casting a shadow over her eyes. "Ich schwöre, ich werde ihn zu töten." She made an "X" shape over her chest with her finger for good measure with her promise to herself; she was going to kill the Shinigami.

Ilyse remained standing for a few moments, her heart hammering loudly, cheeks flushed. Had it not been for the fire of pure hatred in her eyes, it might have seemed as though the girl was actually moved by his words, but her reaction was simply a product of her fury. She sat down, breathing out a shaky breath through still gritted teeth, picking up her pen once more and trying to pick up where she had left off, although it was even more difficult to focus now that Nyhil had lit a new fire to her temper.

Still, Valenar starting the lesson helped a little, and she closed her eyes to listen to him speak for a little, trying to recollect herself. She relaxed her shoulders a little, and managed to return to grading until her teacher called on Nyhil, and then she was right back to where she had started. While Val handled the situation much more calmly than she would have, she still turned to glare at the Shinigami, trying to convey as much as possible with gaze alone: 'If you speak again, I am going to flay you right here, right now.' With the boy's silence procured for now, Ilyse finished her grading and begrudgingly returned to her seat when the second part of Valenar's lesson began.

Ilyse was hesitant to return to her seat and expose her back to Nyhil again, and she almost stopped to ask Sachi to switch seats with her, but that was something she would have considered running away. She was certain that if he moved to whisper in her ear again though, she was most definitely going to have to be held back from attacking the Shinigami. Letting her bag slip from her shoulder and back to the ground, she sat down, and her agitation manifested itself through tapping her pencil against her desk quietly. When Valenar asked if anybody had any questions, she head Nyhil shift his position behind her, and she sighed silently, a deadpan expression on her face for the moment. This lasted for barely a second as her lip curled slightly when her teacher spoke Nyhil's name, and she propped her head up with one hand, trying to massage her headache away.

She never knew what to expect with him, of course, but her reactions to him had remained constant, and his words ticked her off. Even though the tone of his voice was respectful, the words were patronizing and it was an insult to both Val and herself. After all, she did think this was an advanced class! The topic they were learning were a step above the other chemistry classes the school offered, and she was certainly not pleased that something she found challenging was rudimentary to him. 'Pompous b*****d..' She tightened her grip around her pencil, but just barely held back from snapping this one, since it was the only one she had left and she needed it to take notes. When Val locked eyes with her, and shrugged her shoulders slightly, extending her hands slightly in an exasperated manner and shaking her head. Her own look read: 'Do you see what I have to put up with today?!'

When Valenar assigned Nyhil detention, the girl grinned smugly, relaxing back in her seat a little. Yes, that was go- Wait, no Val, why. This time, her glare was directed at the other Quincy, making sure to lock eyes with him so that he would know she wanted to say: 'Traitor! Unfortunately, she couldn't argue here, but she would remember this. She would remember this, indeed. When she heard Nyhil begin to speak, she spun around in her seat to glare at him, briefly satisfied that she could shut him up for at least a moment. She stood up and walked silently out of the classroom behind Nyhil, and Sachi gave the pair a small wave with a nervous smile on her face.

Ilyse shut the classroom door behind her, balling her hands into fists. The girl didn't fully understand that a majority of the time Nyhil didn't understand sarcasm, as as far as she knew, he was just being a pain for his own enjoyment. Ilyse glanced down the hallway in both directions to ensure nobody was coming, and promptly slamming him against the wall. "Listen!" Her voice game out in a hiss, since she knew if she yelled it would draw unwanted attention. "This is a good school with good students that are here to learn, and you are being a distraction. If you don't like it here then.." She tightened her grip on his shoulders, leaning closer to aggressively lock their gazes. "Get. Out." She pulled back slightly, but maintained her hold on him. "Nobody will ask you to stay, and nobody will miss you."

Letting go of him, she turned and began walking down the hall quickly so that she could show him where they held detention. "Hurry up. I don't have any more time to waste on you today."

At the very least, Ilyse could understand Nyhil's irritation in regard to Valenar drinking during class. It was something she often gave him hell for as well, but he'd always managed to teach the class just fine, inebriated or not, so she let him cope with his issues how he wanted. Today of all days though, she could see what drove the man to drink, and even if she was in slight agreement with the Shinigami, she certainly wasn't going to admit it. Instead she scowled, looking momentarily puzzled at the confusion his words displayed. "Are you dense? Valenar was being sarcastic. For somebody who seems to think they're so smart you're quite daft." She hadn't yet been around him long enough to figure out that he took things to a literal extreme. She listened without interruption to his explanation of why he was at the school, albeit with a scowl on her face.

The moment his smile faltered, her own expression changed to reflect the slightest hint of surprise as she thought over his words and what he had offhandedly mentioned to her earlier that morning. It wasn't something she was necessarily going to bring up directly. Even if she had considered Nyhil a friend, she didn't have much to offer in the way of comforting somebody, especially if they had been imprisoned and experimented on for centuries. What were you supposed to say to that?

"I would think that you of all people would know why somebody would want to drink." She shook her head, and although she had her own questions about his story she didn't vocalize them. She was bewildered as to why he had stayed allied with the Seireitei when his words seemed to imply that they had played a part in his suffering. She herself hated his kind simply because of a war that she had never even been alive to witness, so she couldn't even begin to piece together how he could have moved on from any bitter feelings he might have held. How did he manage to trust anyone there after that? How did he manage to trust anyone at all? Vocalizing her questions may have hinted that she cared about him though, and since she didn't want to give that impression, she held her tongue.

Instead, she commented on what he had told her about the funds for the school. "As you said, the school would miss the money you provided, not you." He was correct though, there were several programs that would benefit from the extra money, and she was at least content to use him for that purpose. She enjoyed seeing the talents that the other students could display, and it was a shame that the only thing that might have held them back from expressing such was a lack of funding.

Ilyse halted her stride when Nyhil started to go down a different hall, promptly changing direction and grabbing his wrist to try to pull him back in her direction. "Absolutely not." Honestly, she could have cared less what Nyhil wanted to do, but if a teacher asked her to assist them in something, then it was her duty to follow through. She couldn't have the student body starting to question whether or not she was getting soft on them or slacking off on her responsibilities, so she was going to drag him to detention come hell or high water. "Funding or not, if you attend class as a student then you are not above the rules." She ignored anything about the bento he was talking about, entirely focused on tugging the Shinigami to the detention room.

Perturbed by Nyhil's admission of organ augmentation, Ilyse stared at him for a long moment, struggling between wanting to ask him for more information and never wanting to speak to him again. In the end, she couldn't help it; her game continued. "..Can all Shinigami do that?" She still wasn't exactly clear on if all Shinigami could drink blood or not, but this followed her same logic as earlier: if they were already dead what stopped them from being able to shift organs around? At least for the time being, she could write her interest off as simply investigating her enemy. "Know your enemy better than you know yourself" as the saying went. As always, the romantic implications behind his words took her by surprise, completely unaccustomed to receiving attention in that manner and unsure of what to do with it. After all, it wasn't as though her parents were the model of a perfect, loving relationship, and she'd never allowed herself to get close enough to anyone to kindle any sort of fondness. That's what she told herself, anyway.

Clever, though. Even if his social skills were nowhere near what one could consider normal, he clearly had a solid enough grasp on language to be able to twist her word choice like that. Ilyse indignantly turned her face away from Nyhil to hide the flush on her cheeks, scowling. She was annoyed with him for continuing to catch her off guard in such a manner, and irritated with herself for reacting the way she did. But his words made her feel uncomfortable in the same way his persistent kindness toward her did. Hadn't she made it clear enough that she didn't want anything to do with him? Everyone else turned away from her when she gave them the same treatment, so why was he being so difficult? She'd have to consider a different way of going about her problem then. Perhaps she was talking too much? She kept the majority of her conversations curt, but maybe with Nyhil it was best not to talk at all. If she gave him nothing to go off of then hopefully he would get bored and leave.

Silently she listened to him speak, mentally crossing off "poison" as a means of fighting the Shinigami. She'd have to find an alternative to fire too, considering how ineffective it had been in their last battle. Ilyse frowned at this, running through alternatives. 'Thermite?' It had the potential to do more damage, but it was more dangerous to work with too. Maybe she'd have to try a different path altogether. Liquid nitrogen could cause burns and frostbite with an endothermic reaction instead of the usual exothermic reactions she was used to working with. She'd have to ask Valenar later if he ever ordered the substance for the lab. Quite determined to give Nyhil the silent treatment, she only glanced at him in response to his words. He could tell that Val had been drinking from so far away by the scent? It took most people, including herself, a much closer proximity to be able to smell alcohol on somebody's breath. Despite the temptation to press him more clarification, she bit her tongue.

Unfortunately for her, the stone wall she was attempting to be crumbled when Nyhil interlocked his fingers with her own. "D-Don't do that!" She'd only managed to drag him about three quarters of the way to where he was supposed to be before the action distracted her enough to stop and attempt to pull her hand free of his. "Let go!" Holding his hand in such a manner was way too intimate, and she stared at him with wide eyes, pink hue returning to her cheeks. Moments like this and when he had grabbed her hands earlier that morning and when he had whispered in her ear were things she never seemed to see coming. Why was he so damn infuriatingly confusing?

When she got her hand free, she stepped behind him, placing her hands against his back and pushing him the rest of the way to the detention room only stopping to try to open the door and shove him in, appearing quite uncharacteristically flustered to any who might have been present. With that done, she left him without another word, eager to get back to chemistry where things made sense.

So far, the data for her game was skewed heavily to the side of "It's a Nyhil Thing" when it came to the questions she had asked him. Even though she was still in the gray area about whether or not all Shinigami drank blood, she was leaning more toward following the pattern that Nyhil was just weird and most of the things he did were not the norm for the Shinigami race. At the very least she knew a little more about the Seireitei than she had before, and she was beginning to have the information needed to piece together Nyhil's zanpakuto abilities without having to ask him directly. After her initial outburst she went quiet again, not answering the question he asked of her and leaving without saying anything else. She'd at least fulfilled her duty by escorting him to the detention room, so she'd have to rely on the teacher in charge to do the rest.

Although her initial pace was fast to distance herself from Nyhil, she slowed down once she had turned the corner so that she could take the time to regain her composure. Despite being quite the open book, he was immensely difficult for her to read and his constant ability to catch her off guard was as frustrating as it was exhausting. When she felt like herself again, she went back to class, taking her seat and taking notes on whatever Valenar was talking about at the moment. It took her a few moments before she had enough context to fully understand what she was writing down, but even the brief confusion she had here was nothing compared the torment being with Nyhil brought her. Ilyse made a mental note that she would have to get the notes she had missed either from Sachi or Val later so that she could be sure she understood everything.

Even though she was much more relaxed here, she still sent a brief glare to Val that read: 'Never double cross me like that again.'

Slowly Ilyse managed to relax herself as she filled in the notes on her desk, focusing on solving chemistry problems instead of the pestering thorn in her side that had followed her to school. The subject had been her favorite since she had taken the introductory class. It offered enough variability in approaching and solving a problem to allow her freedom, but it was concrete enough that she didn't feel as though the answers were completely random. When Val dismissed them, she packed up her belongings and stood, very much intending to have a word with her teacher, but she was momentarily distracted by Sachi talking to her. "I'll see you in Calc, Ilyse!" The cheery girl waved and took off, resolving to ask for more details about the whole Nyhil thing when they met up in the Student Council room. Ilyse raised her own hand in a wave and nodded, turning back around to find that Valenar had vanished. 'C-Coward!' He could only run for so long! She would see him at the meeting and she would have her chance to deliver some very choice, angry words then.

The young woman trekked on to her next class: Home Economics. It wasn't the class she was the most enthusiastic about, but she had needed another elective and her mother had recommended it. As it happened, it was easily the class she was the worst at. Knitting she was fine at, but she was impatient and burned everything she cooked, and she always stabbed herself with the damn needle when they had to sew. She was a soldier after all, not a homemaker. Still, even if she could have transferred out, she wouldn't have. Failure in any aspect of her life was unacceptable, and dropping out just because something was challenging wasn't like her at all. Ilyse had to remind herself of this when she entered the kitchens and found Nyhil already working on something. A heavy sigh escaped her lips, and as she walked in she removed her scarf and jacket, stuffing them in her bag. The less she had on her that was flammable, the better.

Despite her best wishes, she walked over to Nyhil to speak to him. "You were supposed to be in detention." Even though the bell for the end of first period had rang, she assumed he had wormed his was out somehow. After all, he seemed quite settled in to the kitchen, so it didn't make sense that he would have been able to set up everything he had laid out in the few minutes since the bell would have dismissed him.

"Dun dun dunun! Dun dun duuunuun!" Nijiko sung her own spy inspired music as she "snuck" through the halls, her back pressed against the wall as though she were being stealthy. As it was, her loud mouth and brightly dyed hair made it practically impossible for the young woman to go unnoticed for more than a few moments, but she didn't seem to take that into consideration. The camera around her neck occasionally thumped against her chest with her movements, reminding her of her mission. It didn't take long for gossip to spread like wild fire through the halls of the high school, and so many people had burning questions about the extremely handsome new student! Second period was the one she had free, and the president of the journalism club had asked her to stalk learn more about who he was and where he had come from. As a mere first year, she was honored to have the chance to get the scoop on such a hot topic. Wink wink.

Nijiko followed Sestran to the library, watching the brief interaction between her target and the librarian. She ducked into one of the rows of the many bookshelves, peering around the corner to wait until the blonde seemed preoccupied with looking at a book. Ducking down she executed quite the ungraceful somersault, slamming into Ethan's desk. "Ow!" Her pained cry came out as a whisper of course, since she was in a library and had to respect the rules. Looking up at the librarian, she nodded toward him, lifting her camera and snapping a picture of him. The more she brought back for her club the better, right? "Psst!" As if she'd even have to get Ethan's attention after all the noise she had made. "Do you know him?" Her hand went up and over the desk, pointing to where she had last remembered seeing Sestran standing.

As for Ilyse, she technically couldn't argue with Nyhil. She had done her job and brought him to detention, so he had at least been there. It wasn't a complete lie, but she was still doubtful that he had remained there. How had he managed to weasel his way out of the classroom anyway? "You were supposed to remain in detention until the period ended." She still firmly believed he wouldn't have been able to prepare the food that he had unless he had escaped Val's punishment somehow. For the first time she stopped to notice the Shinigami's attire, amused by the apron he wore. Ilyse wasn't scared of Nyhil, per say, but she could admit that he did have a frightening aura at times and seeing the contrast between that part of him and the cartoon cat he wore made her lips twitch up in a faint smile. At this, she moved to tug her scarf up to conceal the expression, only to remember that she had placed it in her bag. Instead she leaned her arm against the counter, covering her mouth as she rested her head in her hand.

The expression didn't last long regardless and she sighed as Nyhil launched into his explanation of "her lunch box". It looked impressive enough, but appearances and quality could vary significantly. Besides, it wasn't as though she was going to accept it anyway. "I already have.." Ilyse trailed off, frowning. She almost always brought her lunch with her, but between the previous night when she had been too exhausted to prepare it and the morning when she had been to distracted to think about it, the meal had been forgotten. She remained in silence for a few minutes more, contemplating this. Come lunch time, she would be hungry. Fighting constantly - even if that was in the form of just yelling at people - took its toll on her energy after all. Plus, the reason she had neglected to make the food herself was because of Nyhil in the first place, so she could rationalize that he owed her this much. "Fine." Taking the lid from him, she covered the top of the meal to secure it and placed it in her bag.

"When's the wedding? I definitely want an invit-" The murderous glare that Ilyse sent the student behind her was enough to shut him up, and he raised his hands in defense, laughing nervously. The teacher began passing out handouts to the class, a simple sheet of paper with a recipe printed on it. "Good morning, everyone! We're making checkerboard cookies today. I know they look a little complicated, but they should be pretty simple." "Should" being the key word there. This class did tend to have issues. "Partner up with your neighbor and set up." Ilyse glanced at Nyhil and inwardly cursed both the teacher and herself for her seating choice but did not object, silently grabbing the handout and glancing over it to see what she had to suffer through today.  

[a.renee.w]

"Sestran." The girl nodded vigorously, frantically pawing through her purse to procure a pen and a notepad, writing down the name. Even though Ethan's association with the male in question would have seemed too distant to be useful, she was more than optimistic about any information or connection. It often made for a more interesting story. "What do you know about him?" Nijiko seemed quite unperturbed with her position sitting on the floor. When Sestran peered over at them, she offered the man a sheepish grin, face flushing at having been caught red handed. Ethan's question about why she was so curious and Sestran's own inquiry were met with the girl scooting back and attempting to take a picture of the two of them.

"I am a photographer! Well actually, I'm apart of the journalism club, but they let us use these! I'm Nijiko, it's nice to meet you!" In her excitement, her voice had risen a little, but it was still quiet enough to be acceptable in the library. "Sestran right?" The girl turned her notebook to face him so he could verify that the name she had written was correct. "The Karakura students are dying to know more about you! Well mostly the female student body, but anyway.. Quite the unique name there! Where are you from? Last name? Favorite candy? Long term goals?" Drawing in a deep breath, she'd continue spitting out questions.

"Favorite activities? Why'd you transfer here? Are you single?" The last question was met with a wink, and finally Nijiko stood up, stepping back a few steps so she could actually get a good picture instead of the likely blurry ones she'd already snapped. "Can I take a picture?" If she had permission this time, she would snap another photo, but if not she would just have to sneak around more later. Once more she took her notebook, poising her pen to write down any answers she was given. "Oh! You can answer, too! Ethan, yeah? Chicks dig the scar thing." With the pen in her hand, she made an awkward gun with her index finger and thumb, clicking her tongue and winking again.

"Waylaid.." The corner of Ilyse's mouth twitched up again, amused by the word choice. If nothing else, Nyhil's manner of speech was entertaining, his word choice only a further indication of how out of place he seemed. Still, she couldn't enjoy her merriment for too long, and she scolded herself for having done so in the first place. Her expression settled back into its neutral one once more before shifting into a frown. "So you lied to her? You can't shrug off a teacher's punishment." For the time being she seemed more tired than angry, but that was always subject to change at a whim. On the comment about a marriage date, Ilyse narrowed her eyes into a glare, elbowing Nyhil in the side. "I'd rather die than marry you." Her words were hissed quietly, but he was close enough to her that she knew he would hear.

There wasn't much she could do after that except get to work on attempting to make a batch of cookies. Ilyse glanced over the recipe, scooting the electric scale that Nyhil had pulled out over toward her, leaving for a second to get things like flour and sugar. At the very least, measuring out the grams of what she needed for the dry ingredients was enough like Chemistry for her to understand the process. After washing her hands, all of the dry ingredients were scooped into a bowl so the only two things that were left were the butter and the eggs. Butter was easy enough to work with once it was soft enough, but cracking eggs was immensely difficult for her.

As usual, the process followed the same two outcomes. First, Ilyse attempted to crack one of the eggs against the side of a bowl, but she lacked the gentle touch needed for such a task and smashed it against the bowl, crushing the shell and spilling the yolk over the counter. The young woman cursed under her breath, grabbing a roll of paper towels and mopping up the mess. Taking another egg, she repeated the process, tapping it slowly against the bowl which just caused the shell to crack and fall into the bowl. Growling quietly, she grabbed a spoon and attempting to fish out the shells.

"Oh!" Nijiko had been so intent on fulfilling her duty that she had forgotten her manners. Sestran was an upper class-man, so it was rude of her not to have bowed to him. Quickly, she rectified the situation, bowing to him and Ethan respectfully. "My apologies." At the blonde's question, she chuckled and shrugged a little. "It's up to my superiors in the club to decide exactly what story we're going to run. Maybe we can do a special edition on some of the more popular boys in the school to raise money though!"

Clearly she had no qualms or embarrassment by admitting that she would be perfectly fine with essentially printing a tabloid. "They just sent me to talk to you because a lot of people were curious." Scribbling down what he told her, she nodded. The bowling club was going to become way more popular when she was finished. Her commentary on his responses wasn't really necessary, but she wouldn't pass up the opportunity to talk of course. "China's cool.. I think! I've never been outside of Japan, actually, but I imagine there's plenty of fun stuff out there." She mused over his answer to his relationship status, pursing her lips and letting out a quiet "hmmm" before writing down 'single' in her notebook and nodding to herself.

Laughing at Sestan's comment about how it was inappropriate to flirt with school staff, she shook her head. "Aha! I wasn't trying to come off that way, just passing along what I've heard." The young woman rubbed the back of her neck nervously. Her initial batch of questions had been answered, but she wasn't quite ready to stop talking to the pair now that she had gotten started. Only the grace of the bell for the next period could save them now.

"So, why does your family move so much?" Nijiko's head canted slightly in her curiosity, and she didn't pause to ask if Setran was okay with her asking more personal questions. "And you're in an older class, right? So you'll be graduating before I will, do you have any plans for the future?" After asking this she turned to Ethan and immediately rattled off more questions. "And what about you? How long have you worked here? Have you always lived in Japan?"

"That's lying." Clearly agitated at his excuse, Ilyse went about picking the fallen shells from her batter, tossing them in the trash when she was done and washing her hands again. Glancing at what he had set on the counter, she lifted one of the bottle to her face and squinted. "Why did you grab this? It's not on the recipe." For somebody who could not even crack two eggs for a simple batch of cookies, deviating from the instructions given to her was simply impossible.

She didn't understand how flavor combinations worked, only that the dishes she enjoyed separately didn't mix well. The one time she had tried to combine anything on her own, it had been disgusting. Sweet potatoes were good. The spicy sauce she often put on her noodles were good. Spicy sweet potatoes were not so good. By now, she probably could have trusted Nyhil to know what he was doing since his cooking had seemed to turn out fine, but she hadn't tasted it and admitting that he was right about something was difficult.

Ilyse grabbed another egg, about to attempt the process again when she noticed he was smiling at her. Her eyes narrowed into a glare and her cheeks flushed at the embarrassment of not being able to accomplish such a simple task. "What?" She knew it was stupid that she didn't know how to crack at egg, he didn't have to laugh at her! Misinterpreting his expression, she scowled and put the egg back in the carton. "Fine, you do it th-.." His words overlapped hers for the moment, and she fell into silence, staring at him for a moment. She really didn't want to accept any help from him, but she did need to do well in the class, and she needed to know how to crack eggs to do that.

Sucking up her pride for the time being, she took the egg from his hand and sighed, listening to his explanation and watching his demonstration. Ilyse followed his instructions, holding the egg between her two hands, rapping it against the side of the bowl carefully until a crack formed down the middle. She immediately moved her hands over to the middle of the bowl so that the egg whites wouldn't drip down the side and make a mess. Pulling apart the two ends, she felt an immense amount of satisfaction watching the yolk fall onto a place that wasn't the counter.

In her excitement, she turned to Nyhil, beaming at him in a brief moment of unbridled joy at having accomplished something. "Hey, look I di-.." The young woman's expression shifted to one of shock as she caught up with her subconscious reaction. What was she grinning like an idiot for? The quick feeling of delight at her minor triumph was washed away into her normal stoic expression as she turned away to toss the shell into the trash.

At the other girl's lament, Ilyse raised an eyebrow biting back a "want to trade?" considering if she took her up on the offer it would more likely result in s kitchen fire than a successful batch of cookies. Plus, it wasn't necessarily a bad thing that she was partnered with somebody more talented than her in this area, even if it frustrates her to no end. Once more settling into silence, she stirred the ingredients in the bowl together, mulling over the topic switch. The Winter Formal was not something she was opposed to - the other students enjoyed it - but it required a lot of paperwork, discussion, and supervision on her part to ensure that it went smoothly and safety. "Here." When everything looked combined, she slid her bowl toward Nyhil, glancing at the recipe again.

Nijiko tilted her head a little at Ethan's accusation, feigning injury and holding her hand to her chest as though he had insulted her. "Of course not, I'm a professional!" Nodding at Sestran's answer, she smiled. Bring a diplomat was interesting, she supposed, and he seemed to fit the description of one well enough. He seemed to maintain an air of calm, his answers smooth and collected when he spoke. "That's a nice thing to aspire to, I wish you luck with your dream."

The girl's smile was bright and genuine, the blissful ignorance of not being aware of just who she was speaking to and exactly what his goals were making it easy for her to support him. Not that she would have actually believe anything about Shinigami or Arrancars or the like even if the whole truth had been spilled to her. Turning to Ethan, she nodded once more. "You think you're going to work in a library your whole life?" It wasn't her ideal occupation - much too quiet and calm for her everlasting energy - but everyone was different after all.

Snapping her fingers, she looked interested when a new country was brought up, laughing. "I thought you both sounded like you had accents." The young woman didn't seem worries in the slightest that her comment may have been taken as an insult. "We're quite the melting pot of people here!" China, America, and Japan. "So you like anime then?" She was more into outrageous fashions and Lolita based culture, but she'd read some manga before and it was a good conversation question. When Ethan asked his own, she looked surprised, eyes widening a little. "You heard that?!" The girl seemed quite oblivious to just how bad she was at being stealthy.

"They'd probably just think you were crazy." Well, crazier than they already likely thought of Nyhil, considering his actions toward Hajime and his declaration of love for her. Ilyse muttered her response quietly, finally putting the "lying versus embellishing the truth" argument between them behind her. If the woman hadn't grown up knowing about spirits and training to be a Quincy, she wouldn't have believed it either. The different races, the monstrous Hollows, the balance of the souls between worlds.

It would be overwhelming to somebody hearing it for the first time, especially to any human that lacked the ability to see spirits. She'd been too focused on working on the assignment to have moved away from Nyhil when he had gotten close to whisper to her. Either that or she'd been getting more used to him breaching her personal bubble, but if she were to consciously decide on a reason she would have picked the former.

His answer to the random spice he had recommended was interesting and frustrating. It was rare in chemistry that somebody added an extra ingredient to enhance something, and more often than not it threw off the balance of the reactions. She picked up the bottle and glanced at him, almost considering asking if he was sure he knew what he was doing, but deciding he seemed confident enough with this to trust him for the time being. Hesitantly she sprinkled a bit of whatever he had picked out into the batter, looking at him again for confirmation. "Like that?"

Asking him questions was extremely uncomfortable for Ilyse considering how often she hid her own insecurities behind a veil of confidence, but she'd come this far and she didn't want to screw up the process right at the end. Besides, he was a lot kinder when answering her inquiries about topics she was unskilled than her father for example. It made it easier to talk to him than she would have liked to admit, even if she didn't understand why he was so nice in the first place.

Despite her minor ease she felt at times with him, she wouldn't be quick to forget the embarrassment of what had happened in the class before or their battles. His confusion at how quickly her mood has changed was ignored as she took her side of the batter from him, measuring out the cocoa on the scale and mixing it in silently. When it was combined and smooth once more, she glanced over at Nyhil and mimicked what he was doing to his side of the dough, cutting it into pieces.

Nijiko shrugged off Ethan's apology over his accent with a floppy wave of her hand, shaking her head. "Nah, no need to be sorry! It's cool that you know more than one language, I only know Japanese and a little English but I'm really bad at that." She chuckled a bit nervously at her confession, but once more shrugged it off just as easily clearly not letting her adversities get to her. She tried her best at everything she did, and that was all that mattered! The meaning behind his comment seemed to go completely over her head, and she patted him on that back a few times, quite a bit harder than most people would. It wasn't her intention to hurt him, but she never really thought about controlling her energy.

"Aww, I'm sure you're a great librarian! I mean, I guess I don't come in here that often but.. Um.." The young woman looked around. "There are definitely books on the shelves! Everything looks neat! I'm sure this is how a good library is supposed to look!" Crossing her arms over her chest she nodded several times as if to accentuate her point. Nijiko didn't seem to notice the mood change, or if she did, she made it a point to maintain her positive demeanor. After all, she didn't really see the point in wallowing in the past, the only thing people could do was move forward. When Sestran brought up the dance, she snapped her fingers and grinned widely.

"Yes! Well, I'm just a first year student, but I've heard other people in my club discussing it. I think the school started holding dances in addition to festivals a few years back." She'd been to festivals before, but never to a formal event, so it was an exciting prospect. "I think by the end of the week they'll give the dance a theme and decorate some big fancy place really nice. That's why a lot of clubs are holding fundraisers the next few days. Oh! And there's food sometimes I think? And maybe drinks? Not the alcoholic ones! Although I guess I've never actually been to one of the dances, so I can't say anything in absolute.. I wonder if they play games there too or if it's just dancing?" The girl continued to ramble on, seemingly oblivious to just how much she was talking.

"Oh! And a lot of people go together as, like, dates! You guys should consider asking somebody!" Once more, she winked at the pair, grinning. "Although I guess staff shouldn't ask students.. But I'm sure staff is allowed to go? You might just have to supervise.." Directing her words at Ethan, she brought a finger to the corner of her mouth, looking contemplative. "I think I covered everyt- Ah! Right!" Nijiko held out both of her hands, spreading her fingers out and wiggling them. "It's in ten days!"

Relieved that the amount of spice she had added hadn't been catastrophic, Ilyse did as she was told - a rare event for sure - and mixed the batter once more to ensure everything was distributed evenly. When she had rolled out the batter and cut it into cubes, she reached over to what he had been working on and started pushing the white parts of the checkerboard against the chocolate ones. The pattern that the cookie made really did make the recipe seem more complicated than it actually was. Not that Ilyse could truly judge since she wouldn't have been able to get this far without Nyhil's help.

It was more likely that if she had been partnered with anybody else that she would be on pace with the rest of the class, who still seemed to be struggling a little. As small of an achievement as it was, it still felt nice to be excelling even if it wasn't because of her own talents. If she were to carry this same feeling into things such as battle or her own personal relationships, perhaps she wouldn't have been quite as hesitant to work with somebody else. As it were, her stubborn attitude and preference not to get close to others kept her blinded to that possibility.

When Nyhil asked if she was feeling well, she paused what she was doing and looked over at him, her brows furrowing in confusion, eyes narrowing in a suspicious glare. "I'm fine." Why had he asked that? She felt as she normally did, albeit a little more tired than usual from having expended more energy than she was used to in the morning. As he shifted to speaking about making her soup and illness, her paranoia grew. "I'm not sick.." Although his comment about most people preferring chicken soup was true in her case, she didn't comment on it. It was something her mother made often in the winter months, but especially when she came down with a cold. Ilyse couldn't really understand why it worked, but it always did make her feel better. More than soup preference though, she was concerned as to why Nyhil was acting as though she were sick. Rather, it seemed as though he was assuming that she might fall ill in the future. Considering that she felt perfectly healthy at the moment and that he was suddenly asking her something seemingly unprovoked made her jump to the conclusion that he had done something to her. He was just waiting for the results.

Although she couldn't have thought of an instance in the morning where he might have attacked her, she immediately regretted any instance that she might have left her guard down if only momentarily. Hand trembling slightly, Ilyse pushed the knife she had been using to cut the dough further away from her so that she would not be tempted to use it if she got worked up much more than she already was. At the very least she wasn't going to subject her peers to some crazed knife brandishing fight in the middle of the kitchen. Still, she was far from calm, equal parts horrified and angry though it was mostly the latter that she projected as her own protective shell. "...Why?" Her voice was quiet enough that only he would hear her as she spoke. "What did you do to me?"

Once more Ethan's explanation for his apology was shrugged off with ease by the bubbly girl. "I think accents are cool, actually! They're really interesting to listen to, so it makes conversations more fun." Nijiko grinned and gave a thumbs up, then look surprised when he offered to help with her English. The young woman's eyes sparkled and she looked truly touched. "R-Really?! You'd do that?! I'm really bad, you know! Like really bad!" She had to warn him up front before she came to him with all of her questions, although she was fairly certain that like all the others who had offered before, he would eventually back out of his suggested tutoring. "I won't blame you if decide I'm a lost cause later." Once more the comment was met with a nonchalant shrug, clearly not worried in the slightest about the failure.

When Ethan suggested that she should ask Sestran, the girl blinked several times, face flushing a little before she broke into laughter. "Ehhhhh? With me?" Nijiko continued to chuckle at the thought of them as a pair. Sestran was polite, but he had an air of sophistication and mystery about him, and she was a bomb of pep and a completely open book. "No, no, he should ask somebody he actually wants to go with!" She didn't want to drag down somebody's good time by being a burden to them.

It wasn't as though she didn't find Sestran attractive, she just didn't want to impose on him and hadn't meant to imply that she wanted either of them to ask her. Whether or not somebody accompanied her to the dance, she'd be there living it up anyway! When he brought up forms of dance, she shrugged his concerns away as well. "Don't worry! Most people at the school aren't trained in any form of dance, so you're already way ahead of them." She herself had no idea how to dance in any sort of style, but such a fact would not shake her confidence.

When he asked about attire, she nodded once more. "Ah, yeah! You wouldn't wear your uniform. And it's not really a festival, so people don't wear kimonos either. Some guys wear tuxedos or like.. Those fancy button up shirts with the collars. Maybe a nice coat or a vest or something? I've never had to buy guy's clothes.. Especially not anything formal, but I think that's right.." She looked to Ethan for clarification. The formal dances were more of an Americanized thing anyway, so she assumed he would know more about it that she would. "Right?"

It was a horrible feeling being so vulnerable. Ilyse wished more than anything at the moment that the classroom could have been empty so that she could fully express her anger. Such was how she usually handled her problems, and if she couldn't use that as an outlet then her true feelings would start to bleed through and she didn't want anyone to see such things. She didn't want Nyhil to know that she was afraid. She didn't want anyone to know she was afraid. When he feigned his ignorance at her questions she clenched her jaw and formed a fist in her left hand. "Quit screwing around with me!" Her words were hissed as she tried to keep her voice as low as possible despite her bubbling anger. Slamming the side of her fist down onto the table, she accidentally squished one of the cookies she had formed.

"Yeah! These cookies suck!" One of the other students who had witnessed Ilyse destruction of her creation gave her a thumbs up and promptly punched his own batter, much to the chagrin of his partner. "Takashi, no! We're getting graded on this!" Ignoring the outburst to focus on the more important matter to her, Ilyse turned to give Nyhil her full attention. For the moment her eyes burned with the same furious fire they usually held, though the spark seemed to fade and waver every so often. It was extremely similar to how she had appeared when she had met him on the rooftop the day before and it was an indication that she was overwhelmed and anxious about something. "You did something, right? You wouldn't be asking and saying this unless you knew something was wrong with me, and you wouldn't know something was wrong with me unless you had a reason to believe there might be."

The panic that had begun to set in wouldn't allow her to relax until she at least had more information. "So tell me! Why can you tell my temperature is higher than normal? Why do you know what my heart rate is?" It was more than a little creepy to her why he could tell such things about her without her knowledge. It made her feel as though she were being peered at through a microscope. "What did you do?!"

"Youngsters?!" Nijiko put her hands on her hips, raising her head high and puffing out her chest proudly. "I'll have you know I'm an adult! Well... Not technically... But.. Bleh, fine! I'm going to call you an old man then!" Childishly, she stuck her tongue out at Ethan and pouted, glancing over to Sestran to see him pull out his fancy, expensive phone. Standing next to him, she pulled out her own phone and held them side by side. "Woah! Your phone is so new!" Compared to his, hers was a relic. It was a way older model, the back held to the rest of the phone with a piece of neon pink duck tape, covered in stickers and rhinestones with several noisy charms jingling from it.

For a few moments, the young woman was so distracted by the shininess of the new object that she almost didn't realize Sestran had asked her a question. "Oh! You can buy them from the Student Council members! I don't know where all of them would be right now, but I know the Secretary will be coming out of English and the Prez will be coming out of the Home Ec class." Considering how much she talked to people, Nijiko was basically a walking encyclopedia of random information about the students at her school. Grinning at him, she'd rub the back of her neck, preparing an apology. "I'd offer to take you to one of them but..." On cue, her stomach grumbled. "I have to get a snack before my next class! It was nice talking to you both, thanks for the interviews! Later!" Offering a wave, she would saunter off and exit the library in search of food.

Ilyse didn't offer an explanation to her turn of phrase nor did she answer if Nyhil offering to make her soup was what had gotten her so riled up. It would have been somewhat of an amusing question had she not been so concerned with all of the information he had access to with seemingly no explanation. Thankfully he seemed to finally understand what she had meant, considering she probably would have snapped if she had needed to clarify more than she already had. It was a good thing that Nyhil had taken care of their assignment, since Ilyse was much to focused on getting her questions answered than baking cookies. Still, once he had explained himself to her, she saw no reason to refute him. As bad at conversing without creating confusion as he was - not that she could really talk - he'd proven to be quite honest and blunt when it came down to it. The answer itself wasn't necessarily comforting as she didn't like that he could tell all these things about her at a glance without the reciprocal, but it was better than being completely left in the dark.

"That's..." Try as she might, she couldn't find the right word to fit the blank. Weird, definitely, but it didn't have as much of a punch as she wanted. Creepy, for sure, but that would be an indication that he unsettled her and she didn't want that. She moved on quickly from that. If she could at least understand more about what was going on, maybe it wouldn't bother her so much. Nyhil had stated that he used it on members of his squad, which indicated to her that it was something not every Shinigami could do. Still, she'd clarify her hypothesis. "That's not something that.." Frowning, she'd drop her voice a little lower, not wanting her conversation to be picked up by any student. "That any Shinigami can do, right? It's just you?" Well, she still had a game to play after all.

"And you said you could 'see' this stuff. How? Just with your eyes? How would you filter all that information?" What he was describing sounded more like something a machine would do. Ilyse took a half step back, looking at Nyhil more as though he were a puzzle she were trying to solve than a person she was having a conversation with. She supposed that it could have been his eyes if perhaps one of both of them had been replaced with something that could scan others? Then again, he could have been wearing contacts of some kind that allowed him to do as he described. But she saw no reason for him to be wearing something like that considering he was wearing.. "Oh, maybe it's.." In her epiphany moment, she didn't really consider her actions before she moved, reaching out to tap the corner of Nyhil's glasses in a similar manner to the way he had examined the headpiece she wore. When she realized what she had done, she pulled her hand back quickly and turned away for a moment, masking the embarrassment of her action by beginning to clean up everything on her side of the station.

When she had collected herself, she cleared her throat and went back to asking questions. "Is it just physical stats? You can't tell emotions?" Ilyse certainly hoped that for her sake he could not. She was comfortable enough with the masks she wore, and she didn't want anybody to point out the contradictions of her feelings. "Can you tell if people are lying?" The young woman would wait expectantly for his answers to her questions, putting away the equipment that she had cleaned and wiping down the counter surface. "I don't have time to get sick." That was all she would mutter in response to his prediction to her illness. There was simply too much that she had to do both on the Student Council and as a Quincy in the coming days, so she couldn't afford to take a sick day. As the timer went off, she grabbed an oven mitt and removed the cookies to allow them to cool. Glancing at the clock, she was pleasantly surprised to find that for once she was not scrambling to finish her assignment by a mere few seconds. There was still enough time for her to get her answers, and then she'd be off again.

By this time, a very cold Hajime had trekked through the school and made it to the nurse's office. Behind him he left a trail of water and the ice on his clothes began to melt down with his movements. The ginger headed boy peered around the door, shivering but offering the nurse a smile nonetheless. H-H-H-Hey, Ra-Ra-Ra.." Holy hell her last name was hard to say when he was shaking his much. But the respect to her was more important than the chattering of his teeth! "Mm.. K-K-Kellawan-sensei!" He didn't step into her office yet since he was worried about getting anything important wet with all the water dripping from his clothes. Still, he wanted to go in more than anything at the moment, because her office was always so warm in the winter, and nothing sounded more heavenly than laying down by a heater. "D-D-Do you h-have some c-clothes I can change into?"

If she didn't he supposed that he would have to run back home. Out in the snow. The cold, cold snow. Noooooo. Hajime sniffled at the thought, but he wouldn't cry! He had to be hopeful even in these dark times! "O-Or maybe a b-blanket.." He knew the nurse was an incredible sweet woman, so he was sure she would be able to help him in some way.
 

[a.renee.w]

Ah, there was another thing she didn't understand about him. Nyhil's smiles were frequent and always seemed genuine, never forced. Either he was an incredible actor when it came to his projected happiness, or he was truly an easygoing, cheerful person. Considering his implied history though, Ilyse doubted it. She knew people who were bitter about life for far less than what he had gone through. Hell, she herself was way less open and content with things than he seemed to be and she didn't even have that much going against her. "..You smile a lot." It wasn't necessarily an insult, nor was it a compliment. Just an observation that she muttered quietly while she moved the cookies onto a paper towel.

The explanation of how his inventions worked left the young woman with a few more questions, but she stifled them for now. The more question she asked the more she would know about Nyhil and that to her was a double edged sword. She wanted more battle information because she wanted to fight and win against him, but he was way too open and personal about things and the more she learned about his life and who he was the harder it would be to treat him like an enemy. At the very least, she was relieved that he couldn't read emotions or tell if somebody was lying to him and he got a small chuckle from her at his comment about his lack of ability when it came to reading people's intentions. Considering the fact that he was still trying to pursue a friendship with her despite the hostility she had shown him since they had met, she'd have to agree. Still, she cut the small burst of laughter short, her brief amusement gone as quickly as it had come.

Packing her things up, she'd wrap up a few of the cookies and leaving the rest for Nyhil, sliding them into her bag and placing the strap on her shoulder. Ilyse frowned a little when he insisted on the soup once more, refusing to answer his question once more. "I don't need it. Besides, don't you need to eat lunch t-..?" Stop. The young woman bit her tongue to keep from asking the rest of the question. She didn't care. She didn't need to worry about it. She didn't need to worry about him. Instead of finishing what she had been about to say she turned away and walked off without another word once the bell had rang.

When Sunila acknowledged him, Hajime's face lit up happy to know that he'd get help in one way or another. The woman was always so kind and gentle, which was a nice break from the morning he'd had. "I.. u-u-uh.. F-Fell into a.. S-S-Snowbank.." It was the only explanation he would offer for his sorry condition, and it wasn't really far from the truth, he just wasn't going to bring any third parties into the equation. Whoever Ilyse had started hanging around that morning was a seriously scary dude, and Hajime was sure that if he were to even speak vaguely of him that bad things would happen. He shuffled gratefully into her office and went into the bathroom as he was directed, stripping his soaked uniform off once he had closed the door.

Once the woman had placed the clothes in the room, he quickly changed into the new outfit, immensely thankful for the small amounts of warmth it brought. He dried his hair with the towel and stepped out of the bathroom, eyes widening when he looked at the small cot and found it adorned with a fluffy blanket and a bucket of warm water. Tears of happiness rushed down his face and he moved over and sat on the side of the bed, wrapping the blanket tightly around him and dunking his feet into the bucket of water. "Senseeeeeiiiii! You saved my life!" This, he was sure, was the peak of luxury. No, even more than that! Heaven! "Thank you!" The boy began to relax once his body began to warm to a normal temperature once again, and he noticed that his chemistry teacher was standing in the doorway of the office. "Oh, Ashmere-sensei! I'm sorry I missed class!" The boy would offer a small blanket covered head bow to the teacher.

Ilyse had not made it more than a few feet before the girl Nyhil had asked to play courier tapped her on the shoulder. She turned around, taking a small step back when the other woman push the bento box and cookies into her arms with a grin. "Hey! Your doting husband asked me to bring these to you." Immediately scowling, Ilyse opened her mouth to retort, but the girl had already zoomed off. Grumbling quietly to herself, the young woman sighed and turned to begin walking again, only to be approached once again after only taking a few more steps. At the very least the new person who wanted to talk to her hadn't forced her to slow her pace, and she returned his bow with one of her own, appearing polite enough at the moment. 'Sestran?' There were quite a few exchange students with the most bizarre names, but he was the first one besides Nyhil that she had met.

"Welcome to Karakura High School, Sestran." Despite the fact that the words seemed warm enough, Ilyse did not wear a smile on her face, only giving a small nod to acknowledge his words. The young woman stopped walking when he asked about tickets, wordlessly shifting her lunchbox under her arm and opening her bag to pull out an envelope. "Each ticket is ¥9,000. How many do you need?" The prices were quite steep, but it was a formal event after all, and the production the Student Council put together was always worth the expense. Ilyse didn't bother with trying to stop and converse with the man, not caring in the slightest about why he talked to formally or how he was enjoying the school so far or what classes he was taking. Mostly she just wanted their interaction to be as brief as possible so that she could find somewhere quiet to sit and enjoy her lunch.

Hajime relaxed a little more when his teacher dismissed his apology. It was pretty rare that the man seemed to get mad - probably because he was sick all the time, poor soul - but he still hadn't wanted to get in trouble. "Thank you, Sensei!" He was relieved to know that he would be able to make up what he had missed in one way or another, so he put the rest of his worries behind him. When Suni started asking him more questions about what had happened, he tensed up once again, laughing nervously. "U-Uh.. Yeah! It was slippery and I wasn't really watching where I was going. I'll pay more attention next time." He hoped neither of them would ask him anything more about what had happened although he new that the nurse's heart was in the right place.

The boy practically burst into tears of joy again when Suni placed the heating pad on his head and offered him hot chocolate. "Y-Yes, please! Thank you so much, Sensei!" This day was looking up after all! Maybe getting dunked into the snow hadn't been such a bad thing after all! Still.. Hajime shuddered when he thought about Nyhil and that scary expression he had worn on his face. It was definitely more frightening than any kind of expression Ilyse had ever made, and he was already pretty wary of her too. When Suni excused herself, he nodded and smiled at her. "Take your time, thank you!"

Ilyse gave no indication that she cared whether or not Sestran had attended a formal dance before. There was no "oh, is that so?" or "do you have any questions?" kind of small talk from her as she simply wanted the transaction to be over as swiftly as possible. At the question as to her "date" though, she gave a brief, one syllable chuckle. "Heh. I'm not going with anybody." She hadn't attended any of the formal events in the past with anybody, and so many of the other students were intimidated by her so the thought of her being asked was amusing. Taking the money from him, she slid it into the envelope and pulled out two tickets and his change, holding them out to him. It was a little surprising that he had been carrying so much on him, but the student body was made up of people from all walks of life. And death, she supposed. "You don't have to purchase the tickets for your date, but I guess it's the chivalrous, traditional way to do it."

Either way, she'd always assumed the partners agreed upon it before either of them made a purchase, but it wasn't as though she had that kind of experience so there wasn't much she could offer there. "Do you need anything else?" Her fingers tapped silently against her thigh as she spoke, the agitated habit kicking in considering she was so hell bent on having enough time to eat her lunch in peace.

Hajime did not have much to add to this post! Nope! He was just happily swishing his feet in the water bucket. His poster was quickly typing so that she could go play a card game with her family. Nice!

Sestran's action was so unexpected that for a moment Ilyse wore a true expression of surprise, eyes widened and eyebrows raised before she was able to settle back down into a more neutral albeit still curious look. At first she chuckled quietly, fully prepared to reassure him that she would not be a good date considering her lack of interest and ready to turn him down. But the longer he talked, the more the offer intrigued her. She'd never considered going with someone platonically before - although that could be blamed on her lack of friends in general - and she wasn't entirely opposed to it. Besides, it was a one time event so she wouldn't have to concern herself with any type of commitment to him after the dance and he seemed nice enough. The other girls at her school seemed to think so at least..

Ilyse turned her gaze to the group that had started gossiping, glaring in their direction. If they were going to be petty, couldn't they at least keep their voices down? Their insults, surprisingly, did little to sway her into any type of emotional response. What upset her the most was criticism as to her abilities as a fighter. Besides, it wasn't like people hadn't complained to her about her abrasive personality before anyway, and she really didn't care what that group of girls thought of her. She didn't even know them. Such was a benefit of being a loner, she supposed. Silently, she took the ticket from Sestran and allowed him to keep explaining himself. Once he had left she stood in her place for a few moments, musing over his offer and the ticket in her hand. If he was serious about not wanting to pursue her romantically and he just needed a guide, then she supposed it wasn't a bad deal.

Plus, considering Nyhil had admitted that he eventually wanted some type of romantic relationship with her, this could possibly be an opportunity to get him to back off. The young woman continued to thrum her fingers against her leg as she thought everything over. Her mom would be happy because she was actually attending an event with somebody, and she knew it would drive some of the other students up the wall. A small smirk settled on her face as she made her decision. Maybe she was more spiteful than she thought. Ilyse closed the envelope containing the money and other tickets, but slid the one Sestran had given her into her wallet for safekeeping. Now that she was invested in her choice, she would have to give up her solitary lunch time to talk to Sestran, but she hoped that the outcome would be worth the small sacrifice.

Moving toward where she had seen him walk off to, it didn't take too long for her to spot him sitting alone at a table reading. Quietly, she'd take the seat across from him, setting her things down for the moment. "Sorry to interrupt, but I figured we should at least exchange contact information. You don't have to come with me to shop unless you really wanted to. But I'll take you up on your offer and accompany you to the dance." The reaction from the group of girls that had been trailing Sestran was almost immediate. "Oh, are you fuc-?!" "-What?!" "-- out of all the people--!" Enjoying it more than she probably should have, Ilyse slid the blonde a paper with her number on it. "You can call or text me if you have anymore questions."

When Hajime realized he had tracked in so much water, his eyes widened and he looked distressed. "I'm sorry I made such a mess of your office, Sensei!" He hadn't meant to cause trouble for such a nice lady like Suni, and he felt bad that she had to clean up after him. Still, he quickly cheered up and got excited when she asked what kind of marshmallows he wanted in his hot chocolate. "T-The bunny ones, please!" He wasn't even that cold anymore, he was just tripping over his words because he was really excited about differently shaped marshmallows. His family only bought the boring normal shaped kind! When she mentioned that he'd have to go back to class eventually, he pouted a little. It was so nice and cozy in here, and Sunila was so nice. He really didn't want to leave, but he didn't want to be a burden on the nurse for too much longer since he was sure she got busy. "Okay, Mom.. I-I mean, ma'am!"

When Sestran handed her the card, Ilyse glanced over it noting that it only had his name and number printed on it. It looked like a business card considering the professional quality and.. Wait.. Was it scented? The corner's of Ilyse's mouth twitched up and she bit her lip to fight the smile threatening to spread on her face as she slid the card into her wallet so that she could find it later. She nodded at his words and was about to get up to leave him in peace when one of the girls that had been speaking ill about her earlier interjected once again. It wasn't really the first part of what she said that bothered her. She'd been called worse than freak, and she could care less is she was "fit for a diplomat". Hell, she could care less if she was fit for anybody. She lived her life for herself the way that she wanted to and she wasn't about to change it just so that people would like her.

It was more so the comment comparing her to a boy that set her off. Ilyse clenched her jaw, inadvertently balling her hands into fists. How many times had her father compared her to what she might have been if she had been born as a boy? How many times had she wished that she had been born as a son herself just so she could be accepted and loved? It had only been upon starting High School that her mentality toward that had changed. That she had stopped cutting her hair short. That she had stopped trying so hard to be what her father had always wanted to be. It was too tiring and painful trying to please everybody, so she'd stopped. Hidden her true emotions behind a mask of anger or coldness and had made a point to not only not conform to the commands of others but to defy them completely. Ilyse swallowed down the anger she had felt, relaxing the tension of her body. If they wanted to get a reaction out of her, she simply wouldn't let them.

Instead, when she looked at them it was not with a glare but with an icy stare that seemed to look passed them as if they were not even there. Before she could retaliate herself, Sestran had spoken up, and Ilyse glanced toward him as she spoke, quite surprised at the intervention. She hadn't really expected him to defend her, and while she wasn't necessarily ungrateful for it, she did prefer to fight her own battles. She didn't bother thanking him, merely stood up once he had returned to his reading, offering him a quick wave with the flick of her wrist. "See you around." Now that the dance business was out of the way, Ilyse set off to her usual quiet space to sit down and eat her lunch.

Hajime grinned when Suni handed him the cup of hot chocolate, and was even happier when she gave him a bag of extra marshmallows. This was the last thing he needed to put the morning behind him. Today was going to be a good day after all! He blew on the hot drink to cool it down a little so that it wouldn't burn his tongue before he took a sip, feeling the last bits of any lingering cold feelings disappear with the warmth. "Eh?" Hajime swallowed one of the marshmallows and flushed a little at the question his teacher asked him. Even Suni chimed in, both of them seemingly curious as to whether or not he had a date to the dance that was coming up. He noticed that Suni's voice was shakier than usual, and hoped that his accidentally calling her "mom" hadn't been taken as an insult to the kind woman.

Worried that he might make things worse for her if he pointed it out, he moved right along with where the topic had switched to. "W-Well, no... I mean, I haven't asked anybody yet." The boy rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand, giving a small shrug. There were a lot of really cute girls at the school, so how could he just pick one?! "I guess I'm not really all that worried about it. There's still some time." Well, unless all the girls had already been asked by somebody else by the time he got around to doing it. C-Could that really happen?! Could everybody have a date except him?! Huh, maybe he was worried about it. "I think it could be fun even without a date though.." He laughed nervously and continued drinking his hot chocolate, completely oblivious to his teacher having snuck a shot of alcohol into his drink.

By now the sun had almost set, casting a golden glow about the street. Lamps had begun to flicker on as the young woman walked, her heels clicking against the side walk. Deep blue eyes would move to scan the area around her, always alert. Ilyse had just finished walking her companion Eru Noriaki home, since she bubbly girl had, for some reason, wanted to spend time with her out of class. Noriaki was probably the closest thing the girl could call a friend, but she mostly considered her to be her Secretary on the Student Council. Halting her step, the girl would glance to her left, sensing a couple of new reiatsu spikes. The young Quincy would dip into a nearby alleyway to investigate.

A few minutes later she was taking refuge in the branches of a relatively tall tree, bow drawn, eyes narrowed and looking for her enemies. Like a hawk she would scan for her prey, building up her reishi into a powerful shot since she was certain she would need it. Still, even when the two Hollows came into sight, she would yield, instead opting to watch the man do battle with them. Perhaps she'd be saved the trouble of dealing with such monstrosities for the night, and she could go about her own business. Unfortunately, he proved her wrong.

Not that she was entirely surprised. Ilyse had no trust in anybody's abilities except her own. When the boy - whom she assumed was a Shinigami due to his sword utilization - was grabbed, she would let loose her arrow. The brilliant bright light zoomed across the street, covering the distance in an incredibly short amount of time and striking the creature right through the head. He barely had time to scream out before he began to whither away. Letting her bow dissipate, the young woman would grab onto a nearby branch, swinging from it nimbly, and landing on the ground in a crouch. Her eyes would glance toward Ethan, clearly unimpressed. "Before you go looking to play hero you should check your abilities, Shinigami."

The young woman would narrow her eyes slightly, realizing she recognized the boy who had been fighting. He was the librarian at her school, although she wasn't sure if he knew who she was. There was hardly anybody at Karakura High who didn't know who Ilyse was, but she would prefer that their interactions remained professional and linked only to school life. Besides, she wasn't looking to become friends with a Shinigami. When he thanked her, Ilyse did not react, cold eyes unflinching without a hint of kindness. "I did not kill that Hollow to save you. It's my job." She wanted to make it clear that she wasn't doing any of this out of the kindness of her heart. Few people in her life were worthy of that, family included. Only Noriaki, her bubbly schoolmate, had ever earned an almost genuine smile from her.

When he asked what a shinigami was, Ilyse would frown. "I don't have time for petty games." She assumed he was trying to joke with her, since he clearly had the powers of a shinigami. The fact that he had said this had rubbed the young woman the wrong way. "If you're done joking around, I'll be taking my leave. I'm far too busy to deal with the likes of you."

The differences in their exterior appearances couldn't have been more different. Where he wore a smile, Ilyse wore a scowl. His eyes were warm and welcoming, but hers were cold and cruel. When he insisted that he did not know what a Shinigami was, the young woman would roll her eyes. She didn't want to deal with this. "Are you dense?" For a moment she would stop to fish a pocketwatch from Her uniform, glancing at it and nodding slightly to herself. It was not late, but there were still many things that she had to do, especially now since it seemed that the Hollow population was getting larger with the passing days. It was almost a shame that nobody else could he counted on to assist her, but she rationalized that in the end she preferred it that way. "Do not bother me again. Tell your friends from the Soul Society that it is pointless to send weak pawns like you if they cannot do their job."

It was logic she had grown up on. If she wasn't strong enough to handle herself, then she was not needed. This way of thinking had hardened her heart, and so she felt no sympathy when dealing with those who seemed weak or who needed help. If they were not strong enough to save themselves from drowning, then she would not waste her time playing lifeguard. With that, the woman would attempt to walk away.

As the man began to speak again, Ilyse would halt, closing her eyes and sighing. For a moment she considered continuing her walk, ignoring him completely and going about her way. But what he was saying was starting to make her curious. A Shinigami who didn't know what the Soul Society was? The Quincy would furrow her eyebrows in confusion. Didn't all Shinigami come from the Seireitei? That's what she had been taught anyway; lessons so ingrained into her that they were absolute. If he didn't know what she was talking about then.. "You're not a Shinigami?" Slowly, the woman would turn around, forming her bow once more. If possible, her eyes seemed to grow colder, more calculated, and she realized for the first time that the man was leaking Hollow energy. "Tch." Raising her arm, she would pull her right hand back on the bowstring, an arrow in place, ready to fire at any moment. She had initially thought that the energy she was feeling was just remnants of the once she had beat, or perhaps a new source, but she had not considered it could have some from the boy. "What are you?"

Her gaze and form were unwavering; she kept what she now believed to be an enemy locked on target at all times. She'd never encountered a humanesque Hollow before, but he would have to be purged. Still, she'd allow him time to answer her questions before ending his life.

Collecting reishi into her weapon, the arrow would begin to glow brighter, illuminating Ilyse's face. Her grip on the bowstring was firm, but ready to be removed at any time, with any movement that seemed threatening to her. At a movement to her left, the young woman's eyes would dart in that direction, and she would take a step back so that she could keep the newcomer and the man in her view. The woman was somewhat familiar in that she had seen her around Hinanji and his troupe before, but as she was not necessarily fond of that group, they had never spoken. Her appearance put her in a more sour mood. "Did Hinanji send you here?" She was certain that it had been agreed upon that he was not to bother her in any way, shape, or form. The word she used was not quite familiar to her either. She wasn't sure what a "Fullbringer" was, which irked her since she was used to knowing practically everything. Still, she'd direct her attention back to Ethan. "Finish what you were going to say."

The story Ethan told was less than useful to her, and Ilyse rolled her eyes, scoffing. If he couldn't explain this phenomenon to her, there there was no point in further wasting her time. She'd have to look into it more, what exactly humans with hollow energy were and if she was supposed to purge them in the same way. At the very least the existence of the man was strange; he radiated energy of the enemy but also fought back against that which he resembled most. Perhaps her father new more about this, and had simply neglected to tell her for reasons unknown. She'd have to inquire about Fullbringers as well. The idea of asking her father for anything, including information, was not necessarily appealing, but she would prefer it to ignorance. As for Eliana, her company was not helping her mood at all. As she spoke, Ilyse would allow some of her attention to be used to look at her. Already she had been in the process of yielding slightly, the glow of her arrow dimming. However, the words of the other woman had gotten under her skin. If there was anything the Quincy girl cherished most, it was her freedom. It was why she often refused to take orders from anyone. And Eliana's words had seemed like an order.

The glare of light from the bow came back with a vengeance, Ilyse's eyes flashing, suddenly angry at both of those in her proximity. Slowly the woman would draw in a deep breath, tensing her muscles, eyes locked on Ethan. Letting her breath out, the archer's hand would twitch slightly, releasing the arrow from its tense prison. Her intent was never to kill the boy; if he didn't move then the arrow would slice across his cheek and cut the edges of his hair. If he moved out of the way, then good for him. More than anything she wanted to make a statement that she did not yield to anybody except herself. Only when she had proven that did the girl lower her bow.

The hawk's eyes missed nothing; the way the blade came up, the red gem that began to shine, the way her arrow sunk into his hand and disappeared. It was frustrating. She'd never seen that happen before. Every time she released an arrow was an act of devastation: a cry, an explosion. Her arrows didn't just disappear, and as far as she knew, neither did the arrows of any other Quincy. It must have had to do with the boy's sword. Frowning, she brought her bow up about halfway to her usual position, contemplating trying again. If energy didn't just vanish, then there was trick he was using. And that trick would have a limit. More than that, the small scratches on his body had began to heal. That was something she had only seen on Hollows, as if the energy he was leaking weren't enough to push him further into that category. 'A Hollow with a Zanpakuto?' Perhaps it was a Hollow that had taken over a Shinigami's body. She had never witnessed that, but she wouldn't doubt that it was possible.

Ilyse would only remove her eyes from her target when she realized the noise that had gathered around them. It didn't bother her necessarily, since wiping out the creatures was part of her job. If they came to her, it just made it all the more simpler. The girl would pivot her direction, bringing her weapon up in a fluid motion, launching an arrow at one of the Hollows that had leaped toward them. This one struck its intended location - the chest - but it was not enough to bring it down completely. Still it was enough to make it stop and howl to the sky, giving the young woman time to try something a little more aggressive. She was reluctant to use her more unique attacks in the presence of others; she preferred to keep anyone in the dark about what she could do. But the more basic Quincy techniques would be enough to finish her opponent. "Licht Regen!" By no means did the girl have enough reishi stored for the usual devastating attack, at the very most her bow would fire about seventy arrows at the Hollow, kicking up a bit of dust.

The girl preferred a higher vantage point for battles. The tops of buildings or tree branches that extended toward the sky were where she normally engaged targets from, but she wasn't completely incompetent on the ground. She held her own pretty well, having to use a few arrows to take down opponents since she didn't have time to charge up her more powerful shots. A deadly combination of spot on his to the head, chest, and stomach of the Hollows generally did the trick. It was difficult to tell with some where their most vital points were, the bodies of the beasts not quite comparable to her own anatomy, but it was not impossible to beat them to dust with brute force. Ilyse hardly reacted to Eliana taking out a Hollow behind her, minus a quick glance back. But there was no gratitude in her brief gaze, and the other woman would receive no praise in the slightest for taking the enemy out. As far as she was concerned, she was perfectly capable of handling the entire situation on her own, and the introduction of two new people into her usual routine was only seen as an interference. With all of the enemies gone, the woman would dissipate her weapon, but remained on guard since she didn't consider either of the two her allies. "I assume we're done here."

Ilyse would remain silent at Ethan's apology, face as stoic as always. She didn't care about his emotions, nor did she care about Eliana's curiosities. It didn't matter that the girl wanted to know the answer for herself, simply the fact that the other woman had asked the question about looking into it seemed as if she were trying to give orders in a sly way. "No." The girl would cross her arms over her chest, glancing up at the sky. By now the sun had set, but the clouds still lingered, blotting out what little light it might have provided naturally. Instead, the streetlights were the only things that gave the group visibility, but it was something the Quincy girl was used to by now. She usually hunted at night. "I will continue my job as I always have." She'd investigate in her own time and on her own terms. With that she would turn from the group, walking off down an alley until she was out of sight.

"If you're coming by tomorrow, you should aim for 7:30 if you can." Loralei moved from the kitchen to the table, setting down a note card with the recipe she had promised in front of Nyhil. The time she had given him would leave plenty of cushion time between her husband's departure for work and his arrival, and as much as she would like for Trennen to be more open minded, this was the best solution for now. "Also, German chocolate cake is a good flavor." The woman glanced between him and her daughter, a not so subtle hint to indicate Ilyse's favorite flavor. "Mother." The irritation in her voice was quite clear, but Loralei's smile remained ever as sweet on her face. "Ilyse." She batted her eyelashes innocently, and the two women exchanged a look for a few moments, seemingly having an entire conversation in complete silence. It ended with Ilyse yielding for the time being, sighing and rubbing her temples.

"No, I slept fine." Her voice had lost the same edge from earlier since her "conversation" with her mother, and she seemed more like she was sulking than anything. 'He's nice, so be polite! That was essentially what her look had boiled down to, and if it were anyone else, Ilyse would have willfully done the opposite. Only for her mother would she humble herself. 'Be polite. Be polite. Bepolitebepolitebepolite..' As her agitation increased the tapping of her fingers quickened, only halting when she noticed Nyhil's expression had finally dipped from his smile. Oh? Was her tapping bothering him? Good. She stood when he did, shaking her head and taking her plate herself. "I got it." Loralei laughed at Nyhil's apology. "You're our guest! There's no need for that, don't worry."

Ilyse wrapped her scarf around her neck and picked up her bag, nodding. "Yes, let's go." The sooner she left the house, she sooner she could stop trying to be so well behaved. Loralei wished the two a nice day, and Ilyse walked silently down the path to her house, waiting until they had rounded the corner and were out of sight before rounding on him angrily. "Honestly, what do you want from me?" Even if she wasn't yelling this time, her words were far from calm. She knew herself well enough to be aware that she was far from what people looked for when they wanted a friend. What she knew about him was mostly assumptions, but she knew that he was a Lieutenant and the way he spoke made it sound as though he had been around for a long time. She didn't think that it was too far fetched to believe that he had been involved with the extermination of her race; she was her father's daughter after all. "Are you just trying to ease your own guilt?"

What was with people trying to be her friend recently anyway? Despite all the times Ilyse had been rude to Hinanji, he always reached out to try to support her; Eliana had stepped in on her behalf when she had first fought Nyhil. Sachi had been talking to her more and had brought her tea, and now here Nyhil was claiming that he wanted to be her friend. She didn't understand it at all, and it made her uncomfortable. She was sure life was easier when all she had to worry about was herself, because caring about someone and then losing them was too devastating. Didn't they get that? It was much easier to be lonely and whole than to be surrounded by friends and heartbroken, wasn't it?

Her disgruntled pondering over this made Ilyse almost miss the implication that more than just trying to be her friend, Nyhil was trying to date her. If she weren't so preoccupied with being angry, she might have commented on the impracticality of such a thing. Instead, she broke eye contact, glaring down at the snow covered path and tugging her scarf up around her cheeks for a moment to cover the flush she felt spreading there. What she was asking about was way more important to her than her hypothetical love life, and she refused to spend more than a brief second reacting to the notion. It was thankfully incredibly simple to return to with Nyhil's question to her, and her attention snapped back to him, eyes widening. Was he serious? He felt no guilt? No remorse? How many who had never wanted to fight had been forced to draw their weapons only to be cut down? And he felt.. nothing?

'God damned monster!' A flick of her wrist produced her cross from her pocket, dangling from her hand while the two stood silent, Nyhil in curiosity, Ilyse so engulfed in rage that she could not speak. Him putting his fist to his other hand caused her to form her bow in her own, shifting her pose easily into a battle ready position, arrow ready, bowstring drawn back. Any thoughts of going to school had left her mind the moment she had interpreted her question as that of a heartless killer, and her pride as a Quincy could not allow such a thing to continue living. It mattered not to her how long or how many times it took, she was going to eradicate him from her world.

The fire behind her eyes burned far brighter than it had before, pure hatred in her gaze. It was lucky that Nyhil spoke up because she was in the final stage of launching her attack, but his words startled her from relaxing her shoulders, throwing off her process just enough to stall her while he explained himself. Fury turned to skepticism and the young woman ground her teeth together, trying to decide if she wanted to believe him or not, resolve faltering ever so slightly. If she were being rational, she had no reason not to believe what he was saying. From the few times she had run into him he had always been blunt and to the point, so why would he lie about this?

"I.." She stared at him for a few moments longer, watching his own facial expressions go through a change as he seemingly recalled something. He really did seem like he was telling the truth, and as impulsive as she was, she wasn't unintelligent. It simply made no sense once she put her emotions aside, and she breathed in deeply, curling her hands into a fist to dispel her weapon. She closed her eyes, releasing her breath slowly, mist from the warmth of her breath reacting with the frigid air. "I believe you. I misinterpreted what you were saying." This was the best apology he was going to get for their brief altercation, and she stuff her hands into her pockets, opening her eyes once more and resuming her walk to school.

Quite miraculously, Nyhil's follow up conversation didn't set Ilyse off, and she actually agreed with him. Her nodding reaffirmed his words, and she turned her head slightly to glance at him as they walked. "You know the Head Captain better than I would. I trust Hinanji enough to believe that such a thing won't happen again." Rude as she came off to her leader, she did have faith in him to lead the Quincy race. He was after all a much better candidate for maintaining the fragility of peace and preserving her race than her father would have been. Her lips quirked up momentarily into a spiteful smile before smoothing back down to her neutral expression.

"But it is difficult to let go of the past. It's hard not to hold malice for the Shinigami race as a whole." She shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly, as though talking about her hatred of his race right in front of Nyhil was not rude in the slightest. "Once bitten twice shy." She of course had no idea that can of worms she had opened by uttering the idiom, but it was the phrase she felt summed up her feelings rather clearly.

Once again, she almost missed the romantic intentions behind his words, and it caught her off guard. As confused as she was by people wanting to be her friend, she was even more bewildered that anyone would willingly pursue her in such a way. Well, he was certainly nothing if not persistent. She tugged at her scarf, glancing away from him, scowling for a moment. Considering the fact that she wasn't used to processing anything of the sort, she defaulted to an angry expression, huffing out a sigh. "Don't get too comfortable around me, you are still my enemy."

Even if the words seemed harsh, they lacked the fury needed to make it sound truly threatening, and even though she bit her lip to try to hide it the corner of her mouth upturned slightly in the faintest of smiles. Nyhil was interesting to say the least. Definitely infuriating; many people ticked her off but not as many incensed her enough to draw so much emotion from her. Still, as much as she wanted to beat him into the dirt, she had to admit that occasionally their interaction was almost.. fun.

"You've never been in a snowball fight?" Her brows furrowed in confusion. He was old enough to have been alive during the war between the Quincy and Shinigami but he'd never had a snowball fight? Even she had been in a snowball fight. "That doesn't make sense. Does it not snow in the Seireitei?" And thus began the game of: 'Is it a Shinigami Thing or a Nyhil Thing?'. Nevertheless, she shook her head. "It would be difficult to get the school's permission for a school wide event like that. But there are usually groups of students that do that around town or around the school, so I'm sure you will run into one eve-."

As if to prove her point, a snowball decked the girl right in the face. She reeled back a couple of steps in surprise, blinking and wiping snow from her face, glaring in the direction of her assailant. The young man who had hit her paled when they locked eyes, and he raised mitten covered hands in surrender. "A-Ah, Prez! Good morning! I-I wasn't aiming for you, I swear!" Ilyse nodded her head slowly, flipping over her cell phone and bending her knees kneel down. "Yes, I understand." She glanced at the time and slipped her phone back into her pocket. "We still have five minutes. And you have.. Ten. Nine. Eight.."

The poor boy wasted three seconds processing her words while she gathered snow in her hands, and she kept her eyes on him as he bolted away from the pair. "Seven. Six. Five." She stood up once more, compacting the ball of snow in her hand to make it rounder and smoother. "Four. Three. Two." She stepped back with her left foot and pulled her right arm back, lining up her aim with her target. "One!" She launched the snowball, pelting the student who had not been fast enough to escape in the back of the head. He shook snow from his hair and whined loudly, immediately going about gathering more snow for ammunition. Ilyse knelt down again, forming another snowball and wordlessly handing it to Nyhil.



 

[a.renee.w]

Much of what Ilyse knew about the Soul Society she had learned second hand through conversations she had heard over the years, and it was somewhat surprising to her that Nyhil didn't seem to know his Head Captain all that well. As much as she distanced herself from Hinanji, she had known him for years and he was an old friend of her mother's. She knew much of his past, his occupation, the fact that he enjoyed Chinese food to an extreme. Perhaps being a part of a larger army meant that there was less room for each member to get to know one another, and she was almost envious at the idea of potential anonymity. Furthermore, she'd had no idea that Shinigami actually got paid for their duties. For whatever reason, she'd always just assumed it was a sort of loyalty or dedication to their dimension that prompted them to join, and she hadn't considered any sort of reimbursement for their services. When Nyhil mentioned biting her, her lips pursed up into a scowl and she moved her hand up to rub at her neck, but she considered his words carefully and tried to piece together exactly what he was telling her.

"Is drinking blood not a part of your Shikai release?" She seemed confused; she'd been under the impression that it was just a part of the abilities his weapon gave him that allowed him to regenerate his wounds. "Is that what Shinigami use as sustenance?" She looked almost perturbed, and the thought clearly had never crossed her mind before. Shinigami were already dead after all, so maybe they didn't eat regular meals? But Nyhil had eaten the breakfast her mother had made, so that didn't make sense either. So maybe they could eat regular food but their bodies didn't fully process it? They weren't much more than spirits, so it would make sense if they couldn't make use out of physical food. Nevertheless, she huffed out an indignant breath at his word choice regarding their battle. "That wasn't a spar. I don't hold back when I'm in a fight, I was seriously trying to kill y-"

Her words faltered when he grabbed her hands and stepped in front of her, and she tried to backpedal quickly to distance herself from him, attempting to tug her hands free from his. "You are!" In her protest she tried to regain control of herself, shifting wide eyes to a glare, trying to will the heat from her face. Nyhil's unpredictability was difficult to handle for her, and she couldn't think of any reason she had given him to make him remotely interested in trying to pursue her. The two other times she had interacted with him she had been attempting to fight him, and she didn't understand why that would make him want to get close to her in the slightest. Either way, she certainly wasn't used to that sort of attention, and she didn't like it. Kind as his words may have been, they were lost on the independent, iron-willed Quincy. "I don't want your help! I'm only ever going to see you as an enemy!"

It couldn't get more straightforward than that, could it? She hoped that if he realized he had no chance that he would get bored and leave, and then she could go back to living her life as she was used to. Nyhil stepped back to his position at her side, chattering away once more as though the moment had never happened, she she stood blinking for a few moments, trying to process everything. "Wait.. What.." Nyhil really did move too fast for his own good, and Ilyse seemed more overwhelmed than anything else at this point, staring at him while he discussed the weather in the Seireitei. This was why she preferred battle more than anything else; it was much more difficult to understand people than it was to slay Hollow. She didn't have to think about anything other than where to aim her weapon, and trying to keep up with Nyhil was taking her way out of her element.

The snowball fight started before she had any chance to respond to the last thing he had said to her, and she was thankful for the distraction. As harmless as humans throwing snow at each other was, it was closer to what she was used to than talking to Nyhil was. Ilyse watched the Shinigami's throw miss the initial attacker but strike the newcomer who had joined them, and she was quick to follow up with another snowball to the girl's stomach. She was, in return, hit in the shoulder by the boy who had started it, and she lost her balance and landed quite ungracefully behind the fence when Nyhil pulled her in that direction. She was quick to glare at him, obviously upset at him trying to help her, but her concentration was more on that fight than anything else, and she went about gathering snow, building up a pile of ammunition.

She listened to Nyhil's admission of the difficulties he was having, raising her eyebrows. "Were you trying to hit Hajime?" If he had been trying to hit the boy, then she had to agree with him. "Yes, your aim is horrible." She picked up a snowball in her hand, nudging the Shinigami with her elbow to get his attention. "Don't bring it up any further than your ear. For you, you should use your non-dominant hand to aim where you want to hit. Watch." She waited for the rain of snow in their direction to stop and stood up, balancing herself with her left foot behind her, left arm raising to point at Hajime, right arm drawing back to give her the momentum she needed behind her throw. As she threw the snowball, her body leaned forward slightly, left arm coming back down to her side, right arm following in a wide arc. She smirked as her assault knocked her target off balance, quickly ducking back down behind the fence. Normally, she wouldn't have bothered giving tips to anyone, but for the next five minutes Nyhil was her temporary partner, and she needed him at the top of his game.

It was for the best that Ilyse was distracted with the growing crowd of people who had joined the snowball fight since she otherwise would have had to process the information Nyhil had so nonchalantly given her. She wasn't exactly sure what he was talking about, and she wouldn't have been able to give any sort of substantial reply. Of course, the fight was a double edged sword, and she wasn't able to respond to his claim that she was allowing him to escort her to class which she strongly disagreed with. She brushed snow from her clothes from behind the fence, shaking her head to try to dispel the flakes and drops of water that had melted there. Watching Nyhil's next attempt at throwing made Ilyse nearly sympathetic for a moment for anybody who had ever tried to teach her anything. While his aim improved a little, it was still far from a good throw, and she'd thought her instructions had been clear. Was this was training her was like? The thought made her physically wince.

Just like the snow, she shook this off, resolving that she could make up for Nyhil's lack of skill with her own. The fight continued for only a few minutes more, and while it was hard to tell, Ilyse was actually enjoying herself. She lacked the same giddy laughter and grins that her classmates had, but this was the closest she had gotten to having fun in a while. If she had been better prepared, she would have packed an extra uniform, but at the very least the jacket she wore protected her clothing from getting too damp and uncomfortable. It was mostly her hair that was wet, and this coupled with the frigid air occasionally made her shiver.

When she was hit in the face again, she ducked back down, wiping snow from her face and blinking a few times to regain her vision. The fact that it had been Hajime both times was either an indication that he was actually quite skilled or that he simply possessed an incredible amount of dumb luck. She'd heard Nyhil speaking to her, but by the time she turned to glance at him, he had disappeared completely. "Where..?" She looked confused for a moment as she hadn't even heard him move from where he had been, and she would have sworn it had only been a second since he had stopped talking to her. Not that she was complaining, it was simply unnerving how fast he was.

When she peeked her head over the fence again, her scowl returned, and she looked only marginally less pissed off than when she had thought Nyhil had taken a part in the extermination of her race. She stood up, bringing her fingers to her lips, and ignoring the few snowballs that hit her, whistled. Loud. The students that had gathered immediately stopped, some dropping their snowballs to the ground at the sound while Ilyse stalked over to the flailing Hajime, shoving Nyhil away and yanking the poor boy from his snow covered tomb. He sucked in a deep breath, teeth chattering, entire framing shaking while he brushed snow off of himself. Despite himself, he held up a trembling "thumbs up" to the two, laughing nervously while he cowered behind Ilyse. "G-G-G-Good g-g-game!" He managed that much, taking a few steps back, casting fearful glances toward Nyhil in spite of his smile.

Ilyse sighed and looked to the group of students that had gathered, pointing in the direction of their school. "Go to class." They were quick to comply, seemingly not wanting the same fate Hajime had suffered, grabbing any belongings they had dropped and booking it to the safety of the school grounds.

"You should go to the school nurse. If you don't have any extra clothes with you, they should be able to provide you with something. I'll walk over there with you." "Nope!" Hajime's reply came almost as soon as Ilyse's sentence had ended, clearly not keen on spending any more time near the new student. "I-I'm good! L-Later, Prez!" He took off in a similar manner to the other students, freezing but powered by pure fear and adrenaline. Predictably, Ilyse turned to Nyhil, furious. "What the hell is your problem?! They're human!" As frequently as they got on her nerves she had the best interests of her student body in mind, and she had taken it upon herself to ensure their safety. She balled her right hand into a fist, and took a step back with her left leg, swinging her right arm from her hip. It was every bit of power she could muster thrown in a haymaker punch, and she had every intention of decking Nyhil in the face.

Unlike her current foe, Ilyse had stayed until the end of school and had finished her classes. She'd had to stay a little bit after school to go over paperwork with the Student Government, and she had taken some time to eat the lunch she had not been able to have earlier. She had packed it in a thermos, but by now it had gotten cold anyway. Still, it was better to eat it and have the energy for her fight then to go in on an empty stomach. Plus, it gave her some time to think over how she wanted to approach the situation before she even arrived. In theory, playing keep away from Nyhil sounded like a fairly easy task, but she was not quick to forget how fast he moved. Plus, he had mentioned hand-to-hand in the library, and based off of his zanpakuto, it wasn't difficult to surmise that was where his true strength was. Since that was the case, it would seemingly be a game of cat and mouse, with Ilyse trying to keep her distance and Nyhil trying to close it. When she felt she was mentally prepared enough, the young woman packed her things and dropped them off at home, beginning to head out again when she was sure she had all she needed.

"Ilyse, are you heading back out?" Freezing where she stood for a moment, she sighed and shut the door slowly. "Yes, Mother. I was going to go.." She struggled to think of what to say. It was easier to tell her father that she was heading into a fight, he didn't seem to care so much, but Lorelei always fussed over her. "Hang out?" The phrase sounded foreign in her mouth, but her mother's response was overjoyed. "Really?! That's great, honey! Oh, wait, wait!" From around the corner, the older woman came with a jacket, handing it to her daughter. "It's supposed to rain soon, so be careful out there. Also, I refilled the flower vases for you while you were gone." Her smile was so bright and genuine that Ilyse couldn't help but smile in return. As exasperated as she was at Nyhil, it was extremely difficult to remain mad when it came to her mom. Shrugging on the jacket, she'd nod and kiss the other woman on the cheek. "Thank you. I'll be back later." With a small wave, she'd exit the house and make her way to the construction site.

The snow beneath her feet crunched as she approached, eyes fixed on her enemy as she moved. She stopped and stared up at him, unzipping the coat her mother had given her, and tossing it to the side, letting it flutter away in the wind. Despite the frigid temperatures, she didn't want her movement to be hindered in any way, and the winter coat wasn't going to help her cause. What she wore was simple and practical: a fitted t-shirt and a pair of sweat pants. From her pocket, Ilyse removed a Seele Schneider, twirling it deftly between her fingers, activating it, and plunging it into the snow below her. "Let us begin." With that, Ilyse would disappear with Hirenkyaku, using several of the flash movements to remove her cross, gaining height, and activating her bow. All throughout this, she kept her eyes on Nyhil, not keen on letting him out of her sign. When she found herself balanced atop one of the highest poles in the area, she felt satisfied to stop moving. One of the crystals on her headpieces glowed vibrantly before sputtering out, and Ilyse pulled the arrow back and released it toward her opponent.

Cesium and water. No matter what the chemically loaded arrow hit, it would break open and react with itself, creating a volatile explosion that would damage the nearby structure. It was a double edged sword though. Powerful, but the mist it kicked up would hide Nyhil from her sight for a few moments. Blue eyes remained wide and focused, scanning for any sign of movement, muscles tensed and ready to react.
 

[a.renee.w]

As vigilant as she had tried to be, she had still missed his movement. Ilyse felt the world tilt about her, eyes widening, as the pole beneath her was sliced, and she bent her knees to give her the force needed to propel herself away from the falling platform. This time her eyes did not miss where Nyhil was, but even if they had, his voice would have been enough to draw her attention to him. Even though she had tried to prepare herself for his speed, in this battle he seemed to be even faster. At least the last time her arrow had slowed him down a bit, but from what brief time she had to look at him, it appeared as though her attack had done nothing except temporarily give him the upper hand. It was the slight hesitation that Nyhil used to speak instead of attack that was Ilyse's saving grace, as it was enough time for her to pull out another Seele Schneider. This time, she used the activation of it to deter the clawed attack he had extended out toward her. It was enough to deflect his gauntlet away from her, but the strength contained in his attack easily overpowered her own when it came to hand to hand, and the bladed weapon was easily knocked out of her hand, falling uselessly to the ground below.

Whether or not she had time to act before his next strike was something she didn't have time to think about. From her pocket she produced a small silver capsule, and she tossed it toward his face. "Gritz!" A second later, the capsule exploded, a film of reishi spreading from it, moving to engulf Nyhil. The small barrier between them was all she needed to help her gain some distance. "Don't call me princess!" Unlike before, it was much more difficult to keep up the banter while she was dodging his attacks. She'd kick off of the cocoon she had just created, using the momentum to propel her flash step to the top floor of the unfinished building. It wasn't as high as she preferred, and certainly wasn't hidden enough for her usual fighting style to be effective, but it would have to do. If she wanted to continue setting up Sprenger, she would eventually have to venture down to the ground to pick it up and place it in a proper position, but for now she'd forget about it.

If he had been able to do so well with her single arrow the first time, she was sure he'd be able to repeat it again. But if her past battle had taught him anything, it was that at least one of her arrows had hit him when she had used a more overwhelming attack. She had to take a second in between her landing and her next attack to boost herself in power. If only one of her arrows was going to hit, she was going to make sure it hit hard. Since she was horrible at gathering reishi on her own, Ilyse smashed another Gintō beneath her foot, forcing the contents to flow directly into her veins. This was Blut, particularly Blut Arterie, the only version she knew how to use. "Licht Regen!" A volley of arrows descending toward her target, and began to tear through the spell she had created only a few seconds ago.

To say that Nyhil's reaction to her attack was unnerving would be an understatement. There was a fine line between enjoying the excitement of a battle and going insane with bloodlust, and Ilyse was not sure how close she was to crossing that border with her opponent. At the very least, several of her arrows had hit him, and it was a bit of a confidence booster to know that she could still inflict damage on him considering her first attack had done practically nothing. When he spoke again, she scowled, loading another arrow and pulling it back. "Don't call me anything except for your enemy!" At the same second she launched her arrow, she felt her arms pulled back behind her, an action that surprised her so much she dropped her bow. The weapon disappeared, back into the cross that dangled from the wrist on her left arm, and she immediately began to struggle against the invisible confines that bound her. It was only then that she noticed the faint pain that stung across her shoulder, and her eyes widened as she realized she'd been cut. "He already.." Ilyse was able to snap her arms free from behind her, but she focus she had allotted to that task left her vulnerable to Nyhil's next attack.

The blood he flung at her spattered across her body, burning through her clothes and into her skin. His swing caught her mid back step, tearing through the flesh along her thigh. "AHHG!" As a long distance fighter, Ilyse's enemies rarely even ever saw her, and nothing had ever gotten close enough to inflict much damage. Even when it came to her training, blunt blows and the sting of Quincy arrows was nothing compared to the agony she felt now. Stumbling back, she loosed four silver canisters in Nyhil's direction, bringing her arm in front of her chest like a cross. Ironically, her next attack was revenge for what the Shinigami had done to her earlier; an arm for an arm. "Heizen!" Her voice cracked from the pain she felt, and she was only able to stagger back a few more steps before losing her balance and falling onto her back. Tears blurred her vision, and her hand flung to the wound on her thigh, clutching at it and wincing. Her breath came in short pants, and the snow below her quickly stained red with the blood from her injuries.

For a few moments she did not move, staring wide eyes at Nyhil, frozen in place. 'Do something! Get up! Move!' Snapping herself back into action, trembling hands reached down and tore off the fabric of her pants along her calf. She used this to wrap the wound on her thigh so that she could stop some of the blood flow. Shifting her weight to her good leg, she'd stand up shakily, reactivating her bow and pulling her lighter from her pocket. The arrow she loaded shone in response to another gem along her headpiece, and her thumb flicked along the lighter, igniting it and illuminating Ilyse's face. A second later, she released it, the explosion aimed at Nyhil's feet this time, since she had already done some damage to her upper body. Still, she was close enough in proximity that the force of the eruption pushed her body back, knocking her once more to the ground and tumbling her body across the surface of the building.

"Guh!" Ilyse's tumbling was brought to a sudden halt as she slammed hard into Nyhil, too dazed and dizzy from her ragdolling to really process how fast he had moved in order to get behind her. Her body was still processing the wounds she felt, her mind still processing his words. Her ears rung with a high pitched whine from the explosion she had previously launched, and even though her mind was lagging, her body reacted when he whispered near her ears and bit into her neck. A shiver ran through her, and she cried out at the sharp, sudden pain, not even given a second to retaliate before her body was frozen again. This time as she struggled, she found herself unable to move anything despite her desperation, even something as small as wiggling her fingers was impossible.

Panic set in, her heart thumping wildly in her chest as she tried to figure her way out of the situation. Wasn't she going to prove to him that she was stronger? Wasn't she here to win? Even if her body couldn't move, she could still feel the pain he had inflicted upon her, the wounds that itched and burned more than anything she had ever felt before. Ilyse's eyes glazed over, and when she blinked a tear slipped down her cheek. Darkness tugged at the corners of her vision as she began to shut down; the toll she had taken had completely overwhelmed her and it was almost more than she could bear. Still, there had always been more to her than just what she could physically handle, and her iron will to keep battling forced her consciousness to remain. Out of the corner of her eyes, she glared at Nyhil, fire in her gaze. 'Not yet..'

Ransōtengai. Apart from removing her Sanrei glove, this was Ilyse's last ace in the hole. Her whole body glowed a light blue, tendrils of reishi spreading out from her and wrapping around her like strings. This is what she had been working on for the past month, and as shaky and uncontrolled as it was she was going to make it work for her. For now, she focused it around her right arm, trembling as the force of her technique countered Nyhil's. Her fingers twitched, and suddenly she could move her arm. Jerky movements allowed her to grasp a Seele Schneider from her pocket, and she awkwardly twisted her wrist so that when she activated it the weapon would stab into her opponent unless he moved away from her. "Get off of me!" Her words dripped with malice, but her voice was hoarse and worn. No matter what his next actions were, Ilyse would continue to use the string that surrounded her to struggle against her confines.

As soon as Nyhil was forced away from her, Ilyse would stagger forward and turn to face him, moving like marionette with an unskilled puppeteer. One hand reached up to grasp her neck where he had bitten her, the other struggled to grasp her bow which she leaned on heavily to support her weight. She seemed to register his words slowly, vision blurring him in and out of focus as he spoke. Either she wasn't able to currently process that he made his meals out of blood or it didn't seem to surprise her, as she continued to give him the same weary glare. It took her a bit in between using her focus to keep her consciousness and using it to understand what he was saying, but she finally realized that he thought the battle was over. In response, she clenched her teeth. As long as she was still standing, she was still fighting. "Mnodun.." Her words slurred together as she spoke, and she forced herself to retake a stance with her legs spread shoulder length apart. "Still.. st.. Agh!"

Her hand flung to her shoulder, dropping her bow once more in the process. Her body tilted, and she only barely held herself up with the strings of reishi surrounding her. The claw that had been lodged in her shoulder had finally found her nerve and pierced it, sending a new wave of pain crashing over her. It was only going to be a matter of time before the same thing happened to her leg, and she had lost enough blood to make her dizzy. The burns across her body throbbed dully, and her breaths remained shallow and desperate. Willpower could only aid in a fight for so long; her body was human after all. And yet.. While she still had her Ransōtengai technique working for her, she was going to use it. Her useless left arm jerked numbly up toward her right hand, and tugged feebly at the glove she wore. It seemed almost silly for her to have wanted to use something so devastating as that; would she really give up her Quincy powers just to gain an edge in a battle that seemed to have already been won? Of course she would. There was never a fight that Ilyse didn't take seriously as a life and death scenario.

A drop of rain hit her nose. The young woman's tugging stopped, and she raised her head to look up at the sky. A tiny drop of rain was all it took to completely undo her. The mental response required to recognize the drop as rain, the physiological response to understand that it was cold, the energy needed to tilt her head up. It was more than her body could have handled at this point. It shut down. The strings holding Ilyse disappeared, and the light behind her eyes faded away as her body collapsed and she crumpled into the snow below her.

[K-K-KO'ed!]

Ilyse didn't so much as twitch as Nyhil picked her up and carried her into the building, nor did she stir when he brushed her hair out of her face and bit into her wrist. For about an hour she remained motionless with the exception of the steady rise and fall of her chest as she breathed deeply. The sounds of the crackling fire and storm were enough to begin rousing her from unconsciousness, and they stirred up an old memory of when she had been a child sitting in her mother's lap while the winter rain pelted the house. A faint smile formed on her lips, and she stirred a little more, turning her head to glance on the fire through half-closed eyes, and only then did she realize the ground beneath her was hard.

Her consciousness caught up with her then, and she bolted up with a gasp, one had moving to her neck, the other to her leg. When she brushed over the skin, she realized there was no longer any wounds there. Glancing her arms over, she noticed the burn wounds had disappeared, and she no longer felt any pain. In fact, the only things that remained as proof to her earlier battle was the tears in her clothing and the lingering sensation of exhaustion. She turned her attention to Nyhil, staring at him for a few seconds with a look of confusion and suspicion. It still hadn't clicked that this was supposed to have just been a spar, and his intentions, however bizarre, were only meant as friendly.

Scooting herself over to make sure the fire was in between them, she pulled her legs to her body, and rubbed her upper arms with her hands to warm herself up with the friction. Now she wished she had kept the coat her mother gave her, but the garment was somewhere outside being pelted by the storm. Moving her eyes from the fire to an opening along the building, she watched the dark outlines of rain and snow as they fell. The downpour was heavy, and she sighed. She didn't want to walk home in that weather, but she didn't want to stay with Nyhil until it let up. A cold wind chilled her resolve, and she drew herself closer to the warmth of the flames, but promised she would only stay as long as the fire burned.

For a while, she sat in silence, resting her head on her knees and watching the flickering of the light and the shadows cast by it. "I'm not going to thank you." The comment was followed by a sullen and almost childlike pout. This was in response to him healing her and taking her away from the storm. It was something she still couldn't understand the motivation behind.

At least Ilyse was alert enough to catch the jacket when Nyhil threw it to her. She stared at the garment for a few seconds, considering refusing and throwing it back at him, but she was cold and she was too tired to start an uproar over anything at the moment. For the time being, she refused to let her pride make her suffer any longer. Tugging the jacket on, she pulled it around herself, settling her head back down into the crook of her elbow to cover up the flush on her cheeks. There was something a little too personal about wearing somebody else's jacket for Ilyse's comfort. For a few moments, she seemed extremely intent on studying the motion of the flames as the flickered in front of her, but when he spoke again she moved her gaze to look at him. ".. A friend, huh?" Her voice was quiet, and she appeared to be lost in thought. It was a bit difficult to get past the fear and unease that came from simply being around Nyhil, but even she could almost admit that outside of battle he wasn't too horrible. The jacket wrapped around her body was proof of this, an act of kindness that for the moment seemed to have no ulterior motive behind it.

She was a bit surprised at the amount of foresight he seemed to have when it came to her mother. He was correct though, seeing her daughter unconscious would have certainly been very concerning to Lorelei, and she was glad he had not taken her home in such a condition. "I.. appreciate that. Thank you." If it had been for her sake, she wouldn't have bothered saying anything, but for her mother she would swallow her dignity. Propping her head up with her hand, she turned once more to watch the storm so that she wouldn't have to look at Nyhil any longer. "Don't bother walking me home, just go back to the Seireitei already." The words were blunt and dismissive, but her tone seemed to lack the usual harshness. An effect of her fatigue, she was sure, and nothing more.