darkbishop | NOCTIUM INBOX

Ah! [ She looks up at her neighbor, whom she'd never truly spoken to up until now, and shakes her head. ] No, thank you. It's just a silly mess I've gotten myself int--

[ Rukia hurriedly stands back on her feet when she believes she's gathered her belongings, but in the process didn't do a great job of stuffing her uniform in her bag. She's also only holding onto only one of the bag's handles, therefore leaving the bag lopsided. Thus, the uniform slips out and drops onto the floor again.

Rukia looks down at it and hurriedly scoops it up into her arms in her embarrassment, then back at Hubert. ]

...Maybe some assistance would be helpful.

[Hubert raises an eyebrow at that, but otherwise doesn't react. She seems flustered enough as is, no need to make it worse.]

Of course. Would you like me to hold onto something for you?

[He's got a free hand, but he also understands that trusting strangers with your stuff is not easy!!]

If you don't mind, [ She holds out the bag with the food in it towards him. ] just this is fine.

[ God. What a good first impression to make on your new neighbor!! ]

[He nods at that and takes it. You've got the door now, Rukia?]

[ She sure does. She unlocks the door and opens it before holding out her hand to take the bag from Hubert. ]

Thank you for your help. I apologize for the inconvenience...

[ She looks like she's considering something, though, as she looks at the bag. ]

It wasn't an inconvenience at all.

[Here you go! He hands it over with no problem, though he's noticed that look.]

...Is there anything else I can help you with?

No, but... I was given some tea and cookies earlier, and if you'd like, I'd be happy to share some. Consider it my thanks for your assistance.

[ Will you accept the offer, Hubert...! ]

[Oh, that's...]

I'd be honored, then.

[He's not really sure what to do with that, from the sound of it, but he does nod; lead the way, Rukia!]

[ She also nods and steps into her apartment, leaving the door open for Hubert. It's a very empty apartment, which isn't surprising given how they've only been here for a short period of time. It's clean and tidy, and Rukia leads Hubert to the small dining table near the kitchen area while she makes them both a cup of some of that tea. ]

Please, have a seat.

[ And once she's done, she comes over with two cups of green tea. ]

Ah - I should introduce myself. My name is Rukia Kuchiki; I arrived in this world only a few days ago.

[He follows her in with a nod and takes a seat. He's not exactly used to being served tea like this - and he'll keep his feelings on tea to himself for now, there's no need to be rude. She's quick and efficient and returns shortly, and Hubert accepts the cup with a nod.]

Hubert von Vestra. I likewise arrived only a short time ago. Pleased to meet you.

[ She sits across of him. The aroma of the tea is pleasant and warm, and it helps to settle the nerves she felt from earlier. ]

Yes, it's a pleasure as well. It's odd how we've all arrived from different kinds of places, isn't it?

[ Because as far as she's concerned, nobody she's met so far reacted to her shinigami attire. None of these people are from the Soul Society, at least. ]

Where do you come from?

It's fascinating to hear about other worlds and how vastly different they are.

[It's A Lot but it's A Lot in a way he personally finds very interesting. It certainly seems like he could learn a lot here, even if most of it won't be particularly helpful to Lady Edelgard. Still, it's something to focus on that isn't the idea that he's stuck here for the time being, with no way home.]

I am from Fódlan, specifically the Adrestian Empire. I serve Emperor Edelgard as the Minister of the Imperial Household.

[He pauses for a moment, then scoffs.]

In other words, it's a fancy way of saying I serve the Emperor in her affairs; my devotion to her goes far beyond duty, however.

[That... doesn't really explain much about Fódlan, but it's a good enough place to start, he supposes.]

I see... It must be an honor to serve the Emperor in that way.

[ That is pretty fascinating. She hadn't thought that her neighbor was of high social standing, but then again she knows quite a few people in that sort of position, so it isn't completely overwhelming or anything like that. ]

I've never heard of Fodlan before, but I also wouldn't consider myself to be very well-traveled. I wouldn't be surprised if that was on another world entirely, though, considering how some people here haven't heard of planet earth before.

Another world indeed, it seems.

[does fódlan have the concept of being on planet earth?? i don't know, just roll with it.]

What is it that you do, where you're from? Tell me about it.

[ just fire emblem things. ]

Well...

[ Rukia pauses for a moment. It's very bizarre to her that everyone here can see her, as she's so used to ordinary humans being unaware of her presence. She's tempted to lie and say she's an ordinary high school student, but seeing as though she's been walking around in her shinigami uniform and her zanpakuto on hand, there's no point in lying. ]

I come from a place known as the Soul Society. I'm a shinigami; that entails helping souls from the human world pass over safely, and purifying corrupted souls. Normally, humans are unaware of the presence of shinigami. ... I'm finding that this isn't the case here. It's...strange.

Fascinating...

[The adjustment here must be even more difficult for Rukia; being surrounded by gempeople and humans all of whom can see her when that shouldn't be the case must be quite the experience indeed.]

I imagine it goes without saying, but I've never heard of anything like that before. If I may ask, how exactly is a soul corrupted, and how do you purify it?

Souls turn corrupt by lingering in the human world too long after their death. They turn into beasts known as Hollows, and the purification process, simply put, involves defeating the Hollow and cleansing it of the sins it committed while it was a Hollow.

[ Bleach Lore 101. Enjoy, Hubert. ]

Of course, if the soul committed too many sins as a mortal, it ends up being sent to Hell instead.

Is such a thing fairly common? Have you had to fight many of these Hollows?

[This is so wild, which is exactly why it's so fascinating. Other words are crazy...]

It is, and yes, I have. Many souls linger because they have regrets, or things they hold onto that they're not ready to let go of just yet.

[ It's tragic, sometimes, hearing their stories, but such is the life of a shinigami. Rukia's got a lot more going on than just this, though, thanks to a certain human having discovered her presence back at home...but she'll save that for another time. ]

I can't say for sure if such a thing exists in your world, but it's entirely possible. Unless you have a certain amount of spiritual energy, you most likely wouldn't be able to see any of this happening.

[He nods at the first part; that makes sense. Dying before you can complete your goals certainly does seem like a good way for your soul to stick around, hanging onto regrets. Of course that isn't the only reason - she's likely seen all sorts of reasons for souls lingering behind and a large variety of their regrets that kept them there. It sounds like a difficult job.]

If such a thing exists, I haven't met anyone with enough spiritual energy to see it.

[That doesn't mean it isn't possible, but it seems likely he would have at least heard of a few fringe cases before. Still... what a thing to consider.]

It sounds like a very important job.

It is, truthfully. Shinigami are essential to maintaining balance.

[ Because, like, having a bunch of Hollow everywhere would be bad... But there's something relieving about being able to share this with a stranger, someone who shouldn't be privy to this information -- but it isn't like he'd really be able to do much with it. Maybe. ]

I'll admit, I'm surprised you're as calm about this as you are. I'd imagine that most humans back where I'm from would be shocked if they ever had an encounter with a spirit.

[ bc like. hella deda ]

I imagine it would be difficult for most people under normal circumstances, but these are hardly normal circumstances. I've seen and heard things that would normally be entirely unbelievable back home. At this point, I find it all far more fascinating than terrifying.

[...though tbh hubert doesn't usually find much terrifying to begin with.]

[ For someone who finds everything so fascinating, Hubert himself is pretty interesting. A small smile forms on Rukia's lips and she takes a quick sip of her tea, then: ]

Oh? Now I'm curious. Are you referring to things that are present in this world, or are you talking about things back where you're from?

The things is this world, certainly, though I rarely deal with anything truly terrifying back home.

[...Well, more terrifying than usual, given the inherent horror in working with such a vile group as those who slither in the dark.]

The technology alone is far beyond anything I could have imagined; it's taken some getting used to.

[ He gets a nod, at that. She can understand this to some extent. ]

I understand. We have phones where I'm from, but I'd only ever used them in the human world for shinigami purposes. The technology here is far more advanced and extremely complex; I've never seen anything like it before.

[ It's so much to take in, isn't it. ]

However, I've learned a couple of things, such as how to send photos and messages to other people. If you need assistance with that, I can show you how to do that.

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