Out Of The Den

There was a magnetic click as Markus moved his knight on a magnetic chess board. the maggots nest, had been exactly as he had predicted an over glorified cave, and he was probably going to disappoint Kasumi when she found out that he was unharmed in such a place. More then unharmed he was actually right at home, he had managed to get a good nights sleep in a bed that he happened to take from one of the other inmates and even better he just won a game of chess. "Check mate."

The maggots nest was an odd entity and he was still unsure what he was going to write in his report about it. Did he chastise the fact that it was an over glorified retirement home? or did he merely say that they would get the same effect for less money if they just stripped people of their power and sent them off to the human world. The only advantage to this place was that they could keep an eye on people at all times, but Markus didn't really approve.

The guards were kind, but that could have been because they knew he was getting out. He hadn't witnessed any fights that hadn't been started by the inmates so there was no sign of brutality... which was a pity really if they really wanted to make a good jail police brutality would have made this place at least interesting. He sighed and sat back as he reset the chess board. His mind wondering over to Kasumi.

There was little doubt that he had been too forward with the second squad captain. She had been cute, but he should have let her figgure out his intentions, either way if she had broken into his old home she would have found the 'gift' he had left her. A small white stuffed unicorn. Markus was anything if not persistent, and the moment he had heard the fact that there could possibly be an actual woman under Kasumi's cold as ice queen demeanor, well he had to try his best to uncover it. stretching lightly he looked up at the ceiling. "When am I getting out of here?"

Kasumi had the small white unicorn tucked under her arm. The crimson eyes moved to the jail area which Markus sat in playing chess with one of the inmates. The soft click of the pieces seemed to be the only real noise between the pair. Her officers had told her what happened through the night. Kasumi had been to lazy to go to her barracks for the night. After retrieving the doll she had returned down here to get some sleep while Markus sat in the jail with the other men and women who had committed some form of crime. Her hair was out of the tight bun, laying loose over her shoulders. Peering in the room the woman stared to Markus for a moment. The small stuffed animal was tucked securely under her arm so she wouldn't drop it. Her squad members knew better than to question why she was carrying a stuffed animal around. Her fingers curled around the handle of the door. "Now." She answered Markus from where she stood, still looking like she had crawled out of bed. The crimson eyes blinked lazily to the inmate who looked at her almost fearfully. The brutality mostly came from the head of the division when ever she heard they were trying to start riots. Kasumi stepped in further in the room looking to Markus with a light look before yawning softly. The yawn came out in a gentle squeak like noise before she rubbed the sleeve of her haori over her eyes to get the sleep out of them. A murmur of Russian escaped her mouth. Kasumi honestly didn't sleep long because she had bad nightmares while she did. Nightmares of what happened to her in the past and how she was tortured. The thought was enough to make her lower the sleeve from her face and stare to Markus. What was she supposed to say? There was a look in her eyes that looked almost haunted. No on knew pain until they lived through being tortured by someone. No one understood how hard it was to remind herself she was a new stage of her life, especially after nightmares like that. Stepping back from the door the woman motioned for Markus to follow her out of the Maggot's Nest.

Moving silently her stomach growled, looking to the ceiling with a sigh escaping her mouth the young woman glanced to Markus. "Care to join me for breakfast Captain Alistair?" Kasumi was keeping to her word of forgetting their last meeting. It only seemed right after he spent the whole night there and looked a lot better than she did. A part of he envied that but on the other hand she knew better than to be too jealous over the fact normal people could sleep with ease. Kirin was murmuring in her head that he needed to be fed soon. The crimson locks swayed about her small form as she walked. The unicorn was held tightly to her, a look of almost content touching to her. It was rare for Kasumi to receive gifts from anyone. It almost seemed like Markus knew he was going to piss her off and wanted to make amends for it. Moving up the stairs she didn't check to make sure he was behind her. For all she knew he could've been wandering off on his own. Kasumi wanted to go to the tea shop and get biscuits with tea. "I'm heading to the tea shop, if you want to change or anything before going then please do. That's where I'll be." The woman spoke evenly keeping the small stuffed toy close to her. It was hard to explain why she liked stuffed animals so much. They meant the world to her no matter what she did. Taking a deep breath of the cool air it showed that the sun was just starting to rise. The sky was many beautiful hues. Watching it for a moment a light look touched her face that was neither enjoyment nor disappointment. Shaking her head slightly the woman continued to walk towards the tea shop enjoying the morning. This was going to be an okay day she was hoping.

Once at the tea shop, Kasumi found her usual seat. Plopping down onto the soft pillow she looked to the owner of the shop with a sweet smile on her face. "I'll have my usual please, peppermint with a hint of raspberry. And could I get more of those wonderful biscuits?" Her voice was gentle, the man nodded his head moving to get her order filled out. Placing the small unicorn on her lap the taicho of the second division looked much less menacing with a toy on her lap and her raven hair about her face.

Markus smiled at the timely appearance of Captain Suzume. Getting up to his full height he still felt slightly dwarfed by her size. But he gave a polite bow, it wasn’t uncommon to see people who were taller than Markus after all, and he would only be stressing himself if he let the effect of his height get to him. He had to note that it seemed their positions were now reversed, where once Markus had appeared the wreck now it was Kasumi who seemed considerably less awake. “Hello Captain Suzumi. It is good to see you again.” he said truthfully as he got up from his chair and waved off the inmate that he was playing with. It seemed that he was truly afraid of the other captain the small fragile looking Kasumi apparently had the ability to instill fear into anyone, so why was it Markus didn’t feel at all intimidated by her presence, was it because he remembered the young girl that had once arrived in his classes? Markus was often allowed a small bit of perspective being one of the older captains of soul society, and being a teacher often meant that he trained parts of the newer generation.

“I would love the opportunity to have a meal with you Suz-“ Markus wisely cut himself off from using the rest of the nick name he had used to annoy her the day before knowing that today he was trying to put his best foot forward. *caugh*“Captain Suzume. Thank you for asking.” Markus couldn’t help but notice that she had the small stuffee under her arm, his gift for having been such a pain, but if he had come to her the day before asking to see all of the security measures of the maggots nest… he probably would have been escorted with none of the problems, so in reality he had waited a day by playing his small mind game, but he had also learned a great deal about the fair captain, and even now he was able to confirm that the rumor was true. It seemed everyone gave only the quickest glance to them as they walked, and markus could sense that most of her men were afraid of her. Was the wrath of Kasumi truly all destructive? Markus had a hard time believing she was the same Kasumi from her academy days, but time changed everything.

Markus stayed with Kasumi as she walked towards the tea shop he breathed the fresh air and felt the morning sun on his face. “I am fine thank you, but you know you don’t have to call me Captain Alistair. We are the same rank you could just call me Markus, or Mark I am fine with either. I only call you captain Suzume because I think it’s what you expect of me for right now.” Markus sat down on a pillow across from Kasumi and gave her a polite nod. “Green tea for me please.” Markus wasn’t very creative when it came to tea, but he was hungry and he did like green tea it was very relaxing and healthy, it was something from his past life that even now was soothing.
“Is something bothering you Suzume taicho, Oh and could I have my bird back, I thank you for looking after her, but I know she can be more than a handful I hope she didn’t give you any problems or ideas… she is one of the worst people when it comes to ideas.” Markus spoke with a light shrug as he held out his hand for his zanpakuto.