Night Fishing - [Closed/Sasha]

Pulling the scarf tighter around her neck she flew up the stairs with two steps at the time. Temperature had dropped drastically compared to this afternoon. Rain had made way for a cold wind and treacherously slippery streets. It’s why the call from Leon had come quite unexpected. For a second she had doubted at the phone, wondering if she really wanted to go out tonight and have a go at the floating creatures which might or might not appear. In the end, she realized that if she would keep on hesitating then she might as well give up already. This logic was the reason why she was quickly crossing the street with boots dodging the deeper puddles which reflected lights from the nearby buildings.

There were still plenty of people on the street. Even if half of them wasn’t the type of company Sasha wanted to be around, it gave the night a lively flow of barely noticeable energies. Somehow it felt somewhat soothing to her to be in an area so flooded by people at such an odd hour. Perhaps Tokyo and its crazy habits were finally starting to rub off on her.

Closing in on the place she had to be at her gaze fell upon a small stand with greasy food and various types of drinks in the fridge behind it. Aside from the usual the side of the place appeared to have a coffee machine. Glad to get something hot, she looked around for some coins before getting two cups. Slowly the steam came floating up from the surface of the caffeine beverages. She kept her pace down from there on. Leon should be able to wait a couple more minutes. Besides, he would get the watery coffee for his patience. Smirking a bit, she turned around the corner and her eyes fell on the lonely man sitting in front of the Old Stone cafe.

“Seems that you’ve gotten here faster.” With the smirk still present she sat down next to him and offered her fellow Quincy one of the carton cups. “It smells like coffee, I’m suspicious that it’ll be the only good thing about it aside from it being warm.”

Cradling her own drink in her hands, she carefully took a sip. Perhaps she should have put some milk in them while she still had the chance. It had really slipped her mind. Too late now, at least the bitterness wasn’t all that bad. In fact, for some machine coffee, this turned out to be better than what she had expected it to be.

“Ready for the hunt?”


435-

Leo was in his own little world while waiting for any word from Sasha. The cold was biting at his flesh, causing mild discomfort to the point that he finally gave in, grabbing a pair of black gloves from his jacket pocket. Putting his phone away in his back pocket, he put on the pair with a bit of ire. Why had he agreed to do this again? Better yet, why did he decide to do it on a night like this? It seemed the rain earlier today decided to leave a bitter cold around for the evening that didn’t seem to stop the city’s nightlife from blossoming as usual. Watching the bit of a crowd walk the streets made him realize that they’ll have to be a bit more careful if they do happen to find these jellyfish. They wouldn’t want to show off any of their power and cause a panic - the best case scenario would be someone seeing it and thinking it was nothing more than a drunk delusion.

The smell of food lingered in the damp air, reminding Leo that he’d be out in the cold air while everyone around him seemed to be traveling home or someplace warm. Perhaps getting himself some coffee before Sasha arrived would do himself some good. Muttering to himself, he was about to stand when a lonely figure approached him and spoke. A smile pressed to his lips as he recognized her instantly. Sasha had finally arrived and sat down next to him, offering what looked like a fresh cup of coffee. “My hero.” He chuckled softly as his hands wrapped around the cup, feeling the warmth press to his gloves. That sensation was just what he needed to ward away the chill air.

“Thank you.” Leo cradled the cup in his hands before drawing it to his lips, taking a small sip. Grimacing slightly, the quincy found the hot liquid bitter and off, but she did warn him. At least with a bit of caffeine in him, he’d be able to last further on into the night. “Yeah, I did a bit of searching myself before giving you a call. I thought I’d give it a try but came up rather short.” A weak grin flashed, rising to his feet as she asked if he was ready for the hunt.

“Yeah.” The man turned to her, moving the cup into his right hand. “Let’s get moving before we turn into popsicles by sitting around.” The bitter weather was the least of their problems, they were searching for a rare creature, one that they didn’t know if it was hostile nor if it would attack if they approached them. “Let’s just hope we find them and don’t get attack by them.”

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“You’re welcome,” she had cheerfully replied before taking another sip from her coffee. Now enough of it was gone for her to comfortably walk with the cup without having to worry about spilling.

Getting up she gave him a light smirk that soon turned into a more serious expression. He was right about the possibility of being attacked. The creatures were an unknown phenomenon that could still turn out to be dangerous. Fortunately her guts were saying that they would be fine. Something about the peaceful motions of the orange blobs which had been floating through the street had Sasha convinced that they were not to type to be vicious.

“I think that as long as we don’t come across as hostile they won’t. There was something about them..” Walking next to him with her cup gently pressed against her jacket she looked for a way to describe them. Magical would sound childish, but it truly was the most apt description. Unable to say it she stretched the silence with a couple more steps.

“They’re so fascinating and otherworldly. When I saw them it was like watching a piece of art. A perfect movie in motion, soundless but still perfect.” Slightly shaking her head she frowned at the memory. Perhaps by now it was more colorful than it actually had been. Memory was a tricky thing.

“Sorry, I’m rambling.”

Easily dodging two ladies as they hurried past them she was glad to have drank half of the cup. Otherwise she would have been arguing with strangers about a coffee stain on her jacket and how pushing people was rude. Now she just threw them a deadly glare. Neither turned to face it. She rolled her eyes expressively, then sighed. There was no need to get upset about something so small. They were going to have a good night, even if the Jellyfish wouldn’t show up.

“Left or right?”


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A smile crossed Leon’s features as the woman said cheerfully that he was welcome for bring him a cup of coffee. Truth be told, he hadn’t had someone be that friendly in a long time, to go out of their way to bring him some creature comforts such as a cup of coffee. It not only warmed his heart but his soul. It was kinda sad when he thought about such a thing. Thinking about it all, he was always doing. It kept his mind busy, keeping him from thinking about his past. It helped him through it all. It really was a band-aid to cover up the wound that was in his heart over losing his bride.

Through his pensive thoughts, he barely registered what Sasha was even saying. Merely shaking his head as if to lift the cloud that was over him, he faintly smiled. Kinda gathering what she had said, he merely nodded, knowing that the creatures weren’t natural in the normal world. They had seemed like some off bobbing orbs in the distance when he had seen them. They weren’t really on his radar so he dismissed them as nothing in his mind. Sasha was right in the fact that they were otherworldly for sure.

Watching Sasha dodge two women who walked passed as she gave them a death glare, Leon drained the last bit of his coffee, lightly tossing the cup up into the air with his right hand, catching it with ease before walking to a trashcan and tossing it away. As she asked him whether they should go left or right, he merely shook his head, giving her a casual wave to follow him to the alley beside the cafe. Once out of sight of the regulars that walked the city sidewalks, he smiled, offering his hand. “No. We go up.” With that, his spiritual energy ushered to his feet, lifting him off the ground a few feet. His plan was not to roam the city streets, no, it was to rise above it and see everything that the city had to offer.

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He willingly took the lead and she let him. When his hand came into her range she briefly hesitated. There was a light suspicion in her eyes that didn’t have anything to do with the both of them being Quincy. In the end, she accepted his hand, wrapped her fingers tightly around his and wondered what would happen next.

“Up?” Surprise, confusion. Fear? She almost didn’t recognize her own voice.

Rapidly tracing his expression from the side she tilted her head further and saw him walk up. The air seemed to have steps as he slowly went further into the sky. It wasn’t as fast as her imagination wanted her to believe but she froze in mild panic. Their hands stretched, they were going away from each other as she firmly remained on the ground. Wide-eyed, and with more panic slowly creeping up her spine, she then tugged at his hand. Once. Twice. Unsure if he planned to fly or keep on floating like that, she only knew that she had no idea how to do that.

“I- I can’t.” Finding herself on her toes she felt the half-empty cup of coffee slip from her between her fingers. The hot liquid splattered across the stones. Some of it marked her shoes but the heat didn’t seep through. A bit more and she would have to let go of Leon. There really was no other choice because unlike him she couldn’t walk on air.

Stepping over the empty coffee cup she tugged again. A third time now. “Come down?”


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As she took hold of his hand and he rose from the ground, Leon heard Sasha’s voice change in pitch as he felt a slight pull on his hand. To his surprise, she wasn’t rising up with him at all (she hadn’t even exerted any spiritual energy). Then he saw it, the look on her face showed him the fear that seemed to have struck her over the fact that he wanted to fly above the skyline to see it all. It felt like what he was doing was completely alien to the woman.

Looking down at her as felt the strain upon his hand, it became more than clear that his Hirenkyaku was causing her dismay, leading Sasha to look at him wide-eyed, tugging on him as if that was going to bring him down from his invisible perch or perhaps it was to escape. No, he wasn’t grabbing her hand tight enough to warrant such an action. In all this confusion, Leon furrowed his brow, unable to figure it out until it all clicked in his head when Sasha said that she “can’t”. The little trip the museum and all of her questions. This Quincy wasn’t taught the basics at all.

The coffee fell from her hand as she stood on her toes - for the third time she pulled on his hand as the gravity of the situation hit him fully. Slowly Leon descended to the ground, giving her hand a gentle squeeze as an awkward chuckle left him. Sasha’s child-like fear pulled his heartstrings. His free hand found the back of his neck, rubbing it in this awkward situation. “I’m sorry. I… didn’t know.” The words came out muttered, not really even knowing what he was saying. “Is it the fear of heights or… do you not even know what I did? I’m only asking because of our conversation at the museum.”

Sasha’s fear was real and Leon had to understand as to why to try to diffuse the aura of it all. "You're new to all of this stuff aren't you? The spiritual world can be dangerous without some training."

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Unsure why he appeared to be more embarrassed than she was, Sasha gave him a reassuring smile. Now that he was standing next to her, on the ground, she felt relieved and fairly calm. The fear about the idea of being dragged up into the sky just to be, even if only by accident, dropped back toward the ground and therefore ending up broken into pieces had mostly faded. Leon wasn’t planning to take her up between the roofs now that he knew she was unable to go there herself. Even if he appeared quite confused about her lack of knowledge in this area. Which had her wondering..

“Are all the Quincy supposed to eh be able to hmmm walk on air?” Her eyebrow curled up, she tilted her head to the side while thinking about the Shinigami. They had been running around the city and above it as if it was the same thing. Were Quincy capable of the same? Had she been struggling to keep up with the Shinigami’s movements just because she hadn’t discovered how one was supposed to follow them?

It felt odd to realize that after months of discovering and talking about the spiritual world and its workings you were still failing, miserably.

There was only one way to go about this.

“Can you teach me how to do it?”

Hard, straightforward and calm. She was slightly surprised by her own voice. There was no room for him to doubt her eagerness to want to learn how to walk the air. Jellyfish hunting or not, learning how to move the way he had would help her in battles to come. And she knew that there would be plenty of those.

“I promise you that I’ll work hard and won’t waste your time.” She added, nodding.

Then picked up the crushed cup from the ground and headed toward one of the huge trash containers on the side of the alley to throw it away.


328-

That smile, that friendly turn of Sasha’s lips was all it took for Leon to relax, a faint sigh of relief escaped him. Hardly had he known her for more than a few hours yet, he felt embarrassed for putting Sasha through such an ordeal. Maybe there was something forming there that he didn’t see, something beyond an acquaintance - a friendship. After all this time he had played the fool to get his mind off of things, suddenly he conscious about someone else’s feelings - their fear.

Being asked whether or not if all Quincy were able to walk in the air was difficult to say. It was a technique that was hard to get used to and learn. Those that got too bold could easily plummet to their death. Before he could even answer her, Sasha blurted out that she wanted him to teach him. This completely blindsided him; the little venture had shifted from hunting spiritual jellyfish to a purposed teaching. Reaching up with his right hand, his index finger lightly scratched at his cheek as he thought about how to react.

“I could teach you.” Leon spoke hesitantly. The man had to choose his words carefully after all Sasha wasn’t a young member of his clan. There was no real way to tell how she would deal with him not going straight into teaching about flight. “But, flying is more of an advanced technique of Hirenkyaku…”

Sasha needed to learn the basics, to control her footing and speed while on the ground before even attempting flight - at least, that’s how he was taught. This one, she was still new to her powers but ever eager when it seemed. Watching as the lass picked up the cup and deposited it into the trash bin, he gave a sharp whistle, talking an exaggerated step with his right foot back towards the street, putting his hands into the pockets of his jacket. “You know if you hadn’t gotten scared… I would have been able to create a platform beneath us so we both could have flown around.” He gave her a half-cocked smirk, “So, is it jellyfishing or Hirenkyaku tonight?” Decisions - decisions. Both of the ideas seemed to excite Sasha a lot. At this point in time, everything was up to her. Either way, they have their night filled with adventure.

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Closing the damn thing she walked back with her eyes on Leon. “Hirenkyaku? Is that what the walking on air is called?” She wanted to know when he mentioned the odd term she’s never heard of.

Admittedly ‘flying’ as he put it, sounded scary. Baby steps, she knew, would be better for her. It’s why, despite all the excitement that she felt, she didn’t get carried away. Putting unspoken limits on what she would do tonight, should she be able to, Sasha nodded firmly.

“I think that it would be good to learn Hirenkyaku, that way, next time, I’ll perhaps be able to walk on my own. Because, well, to be honest, hanging there while you do the work seems both scary and unfair.” With her palms up she shrugged, showing him that she didn’t mean to offend him. It wasn’t as if she didn’t trust him not to drop her from above, it was more of a ‘what if’ type of fear. In case of a Hollow or a Shinigami attacking them in the air he would have to take care of her because otherwise she would die. It seemed like an entirely unnecessary risk to take.

Ready to begin the lesson she looked down at his feet. Shoes, was the first thing she saw. Obviously they didn’t get in the way of the platform creation process. She mentally made the note. Then bent a little bit further sorta studying his leg. Nothing out of the ordinary was there, so Sasha straightened out again.

“Alright, what’s the idea behind this.. skill?” Vaguely gesturing around them she wondered if they should stick to this little alley or go somewhere else where people wouldn’t walk into them by accident. She could only imagine the freak out that would cause. ..and the internet articles screaming ‘woman sees people floating’. A grin crawled up her lips, but she didn’t speak up as to not distract Leon with silly things.


326-

Leon merely nodded as Sasha asked about the technique. She really was a newbie when it came to the way of the Quincy. To be honest, at this point in time, he wasn't even sure what she really knew of their ancestry or what she might have even been taught. Maybe was because of her parents - maybe they wanted to keep their heritage secret to protect her from the dangers that the spiritual world had. Maybe she was an orphan and just came into her powers on her own. There were too many maybes in this relationship and Leon would have to get the full story sometime if he was actually going to help her out in the long run.

But Sasha was right about it being good to learn the technique; it'd do her some good to get know more about her heritage and their skills. Besides, Leon didn't like her being scared of a skill passed down by bloodline. If she were to learn it, she'd have to get over the fact that it's 'scary and unfair' for him to do all the work. There was no way in hell that he'd let her even attempt to go high into the air without him by her side in case something happened. The last thing he needed was for her to go head first into the ground because he wasn't there.

It was then that he noticed that she was looking down at his feet. Folding his arms over his chest, he watched her as she bent down closer to take a look. The man bit his lower lip while she did so, choking back the laughter at her genuine curiosity. It really was cute to him - an innocent quality that she had about her. For a moment, he marveled that quality until she asked about the idea behind the skill.

"The idea?" The man beamed for a moment. "Well, to put it easy... You ever notice that the shinigami or the hollow are able to move at a quick pace? Almost as if they were a blur? Or that they're able to fly? Hirenkyaku is our ability to do so. It puts us on an equal footing with them and makes us all the better. Between that and Blut, we're a force to reckon with. Another reason for the Shinigami to be afraid of us." Leon pressed into his spiritual energy, pushing his reiatsu to his legs and feet. As he did so, his reiatsu washed over Sasha, giving her the feeling of warmth and the lingering smell of a fire. In an instant, he moved from in front of her and stood at the edge of the alley, looking out onto the sidewalk to make sure no one else was coming by before quickly moving in a blur to appear right back in front of her with a broad grin.

"I'll gladly help you. But, I don't even know what you truly know about the Quincy and our skills."

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