The Dark Side of Life: A Bond of Hostility

It was night time in the Human World.

The city, as always, was busy with the never-ending flow of it's inhabitants, who hastily walked by eachother on the sidewalk. There would be stars, but the glare from the skyscrapers and street lamps blotted them out, leaving the sky empty and dark. Even the moon, which usually shown with enough beauty to make everything as visible as it needed to be, hung in the void useless and uneeded.

It was truly a depressing scene.

Made even more so by a man leaning against a street lamp. He stood there in silence for a moment, watching the scene around him. His suit, which looked out of place when compared to the attire of those around him, wrinkled slightly only for him to groan and straighten it out again. The citizens occupying the sidewalk seemed to avoid him, as if he gave off some hostile aura of depression or dread.

"I'm going to get stood up, aren't I..?" he thought to himself silently, lowering his head and staring at the ground.

In such a rather gloomy mood, he failed to notice the figure mirroring his position on the other side of the pole. The arms were crossed across the chest, and a head turned to look in his direction. Long, black hair was around the shoulders, and a suit of its own gender-suited nature was worn. A calm, feminine voice spoke out to him.

"Keep looking like that and I might already know you by now, Romeo." There was nothing but a calm, dry tone in the words, and yet a hint of teasing as well.

His head snapped up immediately and directed itself towards the voice, though he kept his facial expression bored and apathetic. He didn't need her walking all over him when she found out how eager he was to find out that she was here.

Not that she wouldn't anyway.

"You shouldn't keep me waiting Tereya... I get impatient." he grunted, mimicking the woman and crossing his own arms and tilting his head slightly to the side.

Her trademark scowl was on her face, but her eyebrows were raised. She turned away, huffing. "Well, sorry. Let me just teleport my clothing next time, 'k?" She asked in sarcasm, allowing herself to lean off of the pole. She turned on her heel, walking only a few steps in order to stand beside him. Her expression matched his own, bored, but slightly amused by her companion's mimick.

Anyone could joke that they looked perfect together.

"I got you something." he stated dully, not hesitating to show that he didn't want to give it to her. It was embarrassing. Especially considering that she was married. Why did he even go through the trouble of getting it?

But she would not be discouraged by attitude so easily. "Oh, really?" She drawled, half-lidded eyes perking up slightly in interest.

"Yes, really." he replied slowly, buying his time.

"Well, quit beating around the bush and show me! I'm not very patient, either..." To tell the truth, she too was getting a little impatient. But, then again, it's not like as if he knew what to do from experience. She herself knew what to do in situations, having her association with Ahatake to thank for that. But, at least for now, she could let Nori be "the man" and let him do his best to put on a professional air. Although it was funny to her, she didn't feel like showing him up again.

"Alright..." Nori mumbled, pulling a slim, rectangular black case out of his pocket. He handed it to her briskly. There was no chance, at all, that she'd accept it, considering that she had a husband. It wasn't a ring! But it was a nice silver necklace he picked out from a Jewlery Store. "I hope you like it." he added blatantly, afraid to watch as she opened it.

She lifted her fingers calmly, letting the tips slide up in order to push the top of the case open. She eyed it first with curiosity, studying the detail of it quite carefully. Then, with as much care as she could give a newborn, she picked up the necklace and held it between two fingers. A look of skepticism came over her face and obvious to Nori.

One: it was the typical necklace a boyfriend would give his girlfriend.

Two: it was the necklace that she needed a microscope to put together, damn it!

"You suck, Haruo. Really, you do." She muttered dryly, holding the necklace in a handing gesture. "You mind putting it on for me?"

"If you don't like it, you could just give it back." he retorted hastily. He didn't suck..! Still, he couldn't help himself from taking out of her hands and moving behind her. He would enjoy putting it on. Easily utilizing the locking mechanism with quick, precise movements. Part of the lock caught on to the skin on the back of her neck. Nori whimpered.

"...ow?" Was the only thing that came from Tereya's mouth. "Careful back there, origami boy!"

"Origami..?" he muttered, fumbling with the lock before finally unhooking it from her skin and putting it in the correct place. It was on. Now what?

She reached behind her to rub her neck gently where the hook had pierced her skin, before turning around. "How do I look?" She asked, grinning as she did a random pose that showed off the necklace.

Heat rose to Nori's face. He hated himself. It always happened so easily. "You look great..." he muttered, looking away. If she pursued this any longer he would scream.

"Good to hear..." Tereya climbed out of her pose and stood with her arms folded her chest, the grin shrinking to a normal smile once more. "Now, where will we be going to, Romeo?"

"You can stop calling me Romeo now." he growled. His name wasn't Romeo. It was Nori. "We're going to... The Red Garden."

The growl shifted her smile into a smirk. Oh, how she loved pushing his buttons... "A restaurant?" She repeated casually. "All right, then."

Nori frowned. She was smirking. "Yeah... So... Let's go." he mumbled, walking past her briskly, through the stream of impatient pedestrians and around the corner. Tereya could catch up whenever. It wasn't as if she was going to get lost.

"Hey, wait a minute--"

Abruptly, once she caught up to him (which didn't take much to do so), she wrapped an arm around his. "You're gonna leave a girl all to herself in this thick crowd..." She purred, feigning disappointment. "On a date? Escort me there, Nori."

"A-alright..." Nori stuttered. Why was she doing this to him? It wasn't a very nice feeling to be wrapped around someone's finger. "Just... come this way..." he grumbled, pulling Tereya with him as he pushed through the crowd. She was doing this on purpose, she wanted to see him flustered; it wasn't because she was attracted to him.

And yet, she looked so innocent about it, almost as if she didn't know what she was truly doing. But, clearly, it was nothing but a deceptive nature, one that hid her true persona. The likes of a certain traitor would be proud. Now, if only she had fox ears...

Nori stopped abruptly, seemingly randomly, as they neared the restaurant. "W-we're here..." he announced nervously. He didn't want to go inside anymore. There was a small possibility that the waiters would call them a couple, or make a random joke about them getting married. Which, in turn, could only serve to worsen Nori's own mood and earn a smirk and teasing remark from Tereya.

"Well, c'mon." Tereya egged on gently, releasing the hold she had on her arm and staring to walk forward. "I don't want to be standing out here all day aweing at its beauty from the outside alone, do you?"

Shaking his head, Nori followed her inside. They reached the lobby, and Nori approached the desk where the... lobby person was, ignoring the scenery of the rest of the room, which was finely carpeted in red; with red walls and flowers. The name seemed to make sense now. This was too fancy for him. The smell made him want to gag. How could someone work here, full time? Waiting quietly as the man at the desk opened the large book, he sighed. Tereya better not embarass him.

"May I help you?"

"Party of two for Haruo."

"... Ah, right this way, please."

As the man stood, grabbing two menus from a slot neatly located on the side of his desk, Nori glanced briefly at Tereya. He really had no idea what he was doing.

"...no wonder it's called the red garden." The woman, in question, was eyeing the red plants with a rather disdainful expression. "Can't you just smell the wonder?"

"Shut up, I paid money for this..." he grumbled. Money that he stole. But that wasn't important!... Right? "If I'd known you didn't want to come, I would have brought you to McDonalds or something..." In truth, Nori would have loved to go to McDonalds! But that wouldn't have been romantic, apparently.

Shrugging as the waiter directed them out of the lobby and to their seat, the boy in the suit pulled his date's chair out for her. "Sit down." he directed smoothly.

She obliged, sitting down and crossing her legs in a lady-like manner. "Thank you." She replied, with a smoothness of her own as well as a seemingly genuine politeness. "But I didn't say I didn't like this place, now did I?"

Nori sat across from her, perfectly so. Now she wouldn't be able to tease him! It was wonderful! "Your sarcastic tone would leave me to believe so." he stated borishly.

"Take a joke, Romeo." Tereya replied, folding her arms across her chest and smirking. "I really don't mind being here. Though, I still say they could use a new brand of flower to scent up the place."

"...." Nori had to restrain himself from picking up the fork in front of him and stabbing it into her leg. "I told you already, stop calling me Romeo." he commanded, leveling a semi-threatening glare in the woman's direction. "And I'm sure that the manager would love to hear you complaints about the decor. Why don't you go and complain to him?"

The smirk immediately faded to a half-annoyed, but small frown. She huffed, blowing a strand of her long hair out from her face. "Like I'd waste my breath, when I can do it speaking with my lover..." She retorted.

Immediately changing the subject, he supressed a whine. "What do you like to do for fun?... Besides speaking with your lover." he asked carefully. This wasn't going very well.

"Well..." She looked thoughtful, pursing her lips. "I usually take walks, kill a few Hollows on the way, and then come back home just in time to cook dinner." She explained, using a hand gesture for emphasis. "How 'bout you?"

"I enjoy competition," he stated simply, then decided to add to it before she managed to ask. "Whether it's physical, mental, or passive, I enjoy it all the same. I like winning. Like when I beat you in the Yuurei! Yeah. That was fun..." Nori shifted uncomfortably. "I also like sleeping and eating."

The woman allowed a devilish smirk to come across her face at the mention of their fight, as well as some chuckling out of humor. "Heh... I seem to remember that you were the one who was begging me to stop before I could incinerate you."

"I seem to remember saying something about crushing your skull with my foot." he retorted hastily. The only reason he hadn't won was because he didn't want to kill her. "Isn't there anything else to do?"

"Hell no. Life is too boring for that shit."

"So all you do is take walks, cook dinner, and kill hollows?"

"Pretty much..." Tereya shrugged non-chalantly. "I'd add Shinigami on the list to kill, but I have a family to take care of."

"There has to be something else." Nori prodded. "You don't like any sports, any T.V. shows, video games, books, board games, anything?"

This time, Tereya turned away, a rather bitter expression coming over her. "Material things like that don't mean shit to me." She replied. "You'd have to have the naiveté of a kid, the innocence that was never lost, in order to be interested in what you just said."

"We've both got a long time until we die. There's no reason not to enjoy ourselves." he replied readily. Was there something wrong? Was he hitting a soft spot?

Tereya directed her gaze back towards him, eyes narrowed and half-lidded in seriousness. But she attempted to put on that confident smirk of hers. "Are you taking my words out of my mouth, Nori?" She questioned. "I don't enjoy myself with shit like that."

"Define 'Taking words out of my mouth', please." Nori pushed. If he could get her angry then he would win! She did it to him all the time. And if she was one of those people who could dish it out but couldn't take it, he wouldn't be interested in her any longer.

"I told you the same thing before, didn't I? Or at least something similar before we even did this."

"Yeah. So don't be a hypocrite."

Tereya scoffed. "Hypocrite? I've actually solved my problem, thank you very much... Romeo." She replied bluntly.

A frown graced his lips once again.The cause of it was obvious. "Then why are you still so bitter?"

"There are things in life other than current, personal problems that can make someone feel shitty." Tereya said cryptically, not bothering to hide the scowl across her face.

"Personal problems..?" Nori repeated. He was prying, he knew. But if she didn't talk about it she wouldn't feel better. And then this all led back to the questiong, if she was bitter, then why was she going on a date with Nori...

"You're a really persistent bastard." Tereya finally allowed herself to sigh, closing her eyes and raising her head slightly. "Tell me, what was your childhood like? How did you grow up?"

"I don't want to talk about it." he replied immediately, with an unusual amount of politeness and calm. He dismissed the question immediately, once again. "It's boring and uninteresting anyway. What was yours like?"

"And yet you want to pry into my problems. How about you man up and tell me your story first?"

"It's not a problem; I just told you, it's boring and uninteresting and I don't want to bore you with it's uninteresting contents." he snapped. She was aggrivating him now. If he didn't want to talk about it, he wasn't going to.

"That's a lie--" Immediately, Tereya lifted her arm to point at Nori with a disapproving look on her face. "You're lying, Nori." Yeah... she knew that she was getting on his nerves. But it was retaliation for attempting to get her to talk of her own back story. But, she had told it once before, and she really had no problem telling it again. She just wanted to be sure that this man would be trustworthy enough not to use it against her.

".... Okay, in a nutshell, I lived a life of abuse here in the human world with my Mother, Father, and little Sister, and one day I couldn't take it anymore so I got a gun, killed them all, and then myself. After that I made a deal with Bael and he made me a Hell-Hunter. Anymore questions, since I can see that it's so important for you to know, even though I don't want to tell you, you fucking bitch!?" Nori's voice rose towards the end, causing the rest of the restaurant to look towards them cautiously.

Tereya didn't even pay attention towards the on-lookers, almost tempted to flip off a finger at them. She only narrowed her eyes in a cold stare in Nori's direction, yet at the same time, she looked rather thoughtful. "Then you're not the only one with abuse in their life..." She finally said, after a moment of tense silence. "And... keep your voice down."

"May I take your order?"

The sudden intrusion into the conversation earned a hostile reaction from Nori, who was only kept in his seat by his desire not to make a scene. "I'll have what she's having." he growled, matching Tereya's stare with one of equal intensity.

The stare was averted, for when she turned towards the waiter, a cheery expression was on her face. She handed him the menu from which she had been looking from. "I'll take the best you have, along with a glass of red wine, please!" She said, her polite voice definitely contrasting from what she had been speaking with before.

"Make it a bottle." Nori grumbled, handing the waiter his menu as well. The waiter walked off quickly, eager to get away from the table. Nori hadn't taken his eyes off of Tereya.

Once the waiter had vanished, Tereya's expression reverted to that of her intensely serious self. "Now, then..." She said darkly, turning once again to face Nori. She raised a finger to her head. "I always didn't have this mentality, especially not when I was a kid. Back then, I was a naive and innocent brat, believing the best in people, all that shit. I lived in a remote part of the Soul Society, somewhat similar to a village. I had plenty of friends, even one who's still alive right now. Hell, I even had a different name."

"That's great." Nori hissed, the sarcasm dripping off of his voice. He would be getting drunk tonight. Why did she have to remind him of that?... After considering things carefully, he spoke. "If this bothers you, or if you don't want to tell me, don't. I'm sorry for prying and ruining the date."

"Hey, shut the hell up." Tereya snapped in annoyance. "I'm telling you, so don't bother interrupting me."

He was humbled easily. Folding his hands on his lap neatly, he waited for Tereya to continue.

"Of course... all of that childhood living was going to end sooner or later. Back then, I never knew that I had a Hollow inside of me. I had been told before that it was part of an abandoned experiment, but I never could remember it completely. But, I did know that some of my friends were also part of that experiment... and that's why the village was eventually hunted down by a group of radical Shinigami, as well as annihilated with their God's hammer." She folded her hands on her knees, looking even more lady-like even as she told the gruesome story.

"Nothing remained. Nearly every villager was slaughtered and left to burn in that blazing inferno that was once my home. Along with supposed other experiments, I was huddled into a group. My name was no longer Nami.... it was bitch." She took in a deep breath, already seeing the memories play in her head.

Nori sighed. She told him not to interrupt. But he wanted to give her a hug! She needed it, too! He could see! This was worse than his childhood... He had no right to be angry with her...

"Beaten, raped, tortured, put nearly to our deaths..." She continued on, closing her eyes and lifting up her head. "Whatever sick thing you can name, we had it taken to us by those discriminating fucks. Everyday life was spent in fear, pain, anguish, and helplessness, and one could even wonder why we didn't just lose our sanity. There was no one there that could help us, no one there that would relieve the agony of our bodies. We had to rely on each other for comfort, with what little morality we could spare between us. Every day... for several months."

"Then... it stopped. One day, the Shinigami rounded us all up again, but this time they tied us to the ground and abandoned us, just as the vultures were coming in. We had been bound so fucking tightly, our still bodies made those dumb birds think that we were already dead, so they jumped right in. I can't help but wonder if they were deaf... I nearly went deaf, hearing the screams of my comrades as they died a slow, painful death right beside me."

Nori's face paled. "Uhm, uhm... I... I have to go to the bathroom..." he mumbled, waiting to be dismissed. True, it was an inappropriate time to interrupt (like she had told him not to), and he hadn't drunken anything in the last half hour, but he had to go! Unless she wanted him to piss his pants while listening to her? It would smell! Did she want to be foot-deep in a puddle of smelly piss?

Surprisingly, Tereya chuckled. "Go right ahead. I got a bit more to tell when you come back."

"Okay!" Nori shouted, surprisingly cheerful as well. "I'll be right back." Nori ran off to the bathroom, eager to empty his bladder, leaving Tereya to dwell alone for a moment in her own memories and thoughts. Would she leave while he was in the bathroom? He doubted it... he was too handsome! And smart! And charming~! Exhaling a sigh of relief after zipping up his pants, he began to wash his hands. True, he didn't pee on his hands, but he didn't want to be tasting his dick either when he was eating his food.

When he was gone, Tereya relaxed from her position. She put her hands on her arms, and her arms on the table, looking like a depressed drunk who had just stepped into the bar. Remembering her past again, no matter how many times she did it, brought on a great pain to her heart. It was far too late for her to change back into what she was, it would be like attempting to get people to call her Nami again. It would be far too late.

Why did destiny have to shove its reaping stick right up her ass, of all people? It had left her nothing but a husband who hadn't really understood her in the first place, as well as a family she should've never been a part of. It had weakened her, making her into this sentimental fool. Why did she have to change so much?

Arms wrapped themselves around Tereya's body from behind; obviously not in a hostile manner, but an affectionate one. The pressed against her body, squeezing her tight, while simultaneously wiping some left over moisture from the bathroom sink on her clothing. It was supposed to be a joke; a way to comfort her and make her laugh at the same time. Hugs were nice! She could beat the shit out of him all she wanted later!

Finally relinquishing his grip, Nori returned to his seat across the table and made a small handmotion. "Continue, please." he chirped, still smiling. It had made him. Feel better.

Obviously, Tereya had not seen that coming, for her expression was blank as she stared at him. A faint blush had spread across her cheeks when she felt the contact of him hugging her. Strangely, in her rather depressed mood, the feeling felt... nice. The ache within her heart had eased upon his touch, as if he had somehow healed her from her pain. Yet, all she could manage was a "W...what was that....?" as an intelligent response.

"I don't know what you're talking about. Please continue." he insisted, waving his hand yet again. Was the food going to get here any time soon? He didn't need her going soft on him.

"...Tch!" She allowed a scoff to escape her lips, expression returning to a rather amused one. "Fuck that..." She snorted, turning away from him and propping an elbow on the table. Then, she placed her jaw in her hands. "You just screwed up the moment. Now I can't get into it!"

"Don't act like you didn't enjoy it. I just don't need you being emo and fucking up the rest of the date. Continue." he ordered for the third time, this time a hint of a threat in his voice. He had to know the ending! Why was she still alive! Vultures usually ate the eyes first, when eating a corpse, 'cause they don't like people lookin' at them while they ate, so it was weird that she wasn't missing any eyes! Unless she had a glass eye? "Do you have glass eyes?"

She lowered her head, lifted her head back and let out a hearty, yet evil sounding laugh. "All right, Tiger. No need to get edgy." She leaned forward, placing her arms on the table once more. "No, I don't have glass eyes. When they got done with my friends... they moved onto me. But, by then, I heard its voice speak to me, urging me to break from my bonds, urging me to kill. Now that my friends had been gone, and I had saw no other purpose, I accepted its embrace. I tore out of the bonds and slaughtered those birds."

She closed her eyes, once again in thought. "As my wounds healed, I raced towards where I felt the Shinigami bastards. They happened to be setting up camp in a far off direction, their resources having been wasted for the time being. They were unaware of my presence, and thus, they didn't know what in the hell hit 'em until it was too late." Once she opened her eyes again, they were narrowed, and a grim smile was now decked on her countenance. "With my bare hands, as well as my teeth, I tore each and every one of those fuckers apart. I reveled in their screams, just like they had reveled in mine. The blood was delicious tonight..."

She allowed her tongue to trace her upper lip in a seductive, but rather threatening and clearly sadistic manner, chuckling once she did so.

Nori was obviously intimidated. He seemed to shrink back into his seat, eyes trained on her tounge. "Do you have interest in anything..?' he asked feebly, in an--needless to say--feeble attempt to change the conversation.

"Other than watching you squirm?" Tereya asked, smirking in amusement at his frightful actions. "Not much."

Nori's eyes widened again; he was back on the offensive. "Really? Because I love that blush that magically showed up on your face a few minutes ago. I never would have expected someone like you to blush..." he giggled, carefully glancing at the kitchen door. It was like they were taking long on purpose! Making they were taking enough time to defile their food with their feces... It would be expected.

Bemusement came across Tereya's face once more. "Th...that was...." She stuttered, before sighing out of annoyance. She threw her hands in the air moderately. "Fine, you got me. But it was only because I wasn't expecting it, Cuddles."

"Do you want another one~?" he taunted, smiling warmly at her. He'd give her one! If she wanted it.

Tereya's eye started to twitch, and she folded her arms across her chest. "You wouldn't dare, if you don't want me to start something right here in the marketplace." She threatened, putting on narrowed eyes and a disdainful scowl.

"I won the last fight, I'll win this one!" Nori replied excitedly. This was fun.... But he didn't have his Zanpakuto... Did she..?

Tereya allowed an arrogant grin to come across her face. "You will try, Romeo." She retorted, aiming to once again grind his nerves. "And I promise, I'll have you begging just like before."

Nori wasted no time; picking up his fork and flinging at her, aiming to impale her in the head. This would be fun~! And he'd win. Just like he did before~. Even before Tereya had a chance to react to the fork, Nori's feet were pressed against the edge of the edge of the table, and he shoved it towards her, pinning her in her seat and preventing her from actually leaving it and dodging.

He knew it would end like this.

Good thing she had her arms folded across her chest.

With a reaching hand, she caught the fork before it could impale her in the skull, saving herself from an early death. "Nice try, Cuddles..." She taunted, gripping the table with her free hand. Promptly, with her arm, she shoved the table into him, pinning him to his own seat. "But that doesn't work on professionals." Promptly, she threw it back, though she knew he already had some possible way of countering.

Using his knee, Nori simply deflected the table upwards, the fork impaling itself in that, instead. He easily kicked up in the air, and then, by extension, at her. He would win~! Rolling backwards off his own chair, he lifted that up, too.

The people around them had already begun to evacuate, as well as the staff. It was okay! He didn't like this place, anyway.

Smiling, Tereya tilted her head back to avoid his flying foot before side-leaping out of her seat. She caught herself on her hands before she ducked into a roll, landing in a crouch position onto the floor. Even though this wasn't exactly an "official" fight, it still got her a bit excited to engage in some sort of combat. It was only a shame that she didn't get a chance to utilize it often.

Nori quickly brought the chair that he was holding down over Tereya's head.

She lifted her hands up to catch the chair, gripping it tightly. With a twisting force, she swung back around and threw him away. Then, she opted to tossing the chair at him, as well - what use did she have for it?

Nori crashed against the wall, the force of his impact making a portrait hung above him to drop on his head. Ignoring it as the chair came at him, he shattered it with a simple kick, then picked up one of the shattered legs. A makeshift sword! Awesome! Standing up huskily, he slowly and cautiously approached her, ready to kill her again. Really, it was too much fun.

Tereya lowered her eyes dangerously at him, her smile gaining a bit of the maniacal nature. She raised her hands up in a defensive stance, feet spread apart. "You wouldn't fight an unarmed opponent, would you?" She asked mockingly, waiting for him to come closer.

"You know I would."

Unable to use Kogeru or Shunpo, Nori resorted to merely dashing at her, he poised his stick (which was what it was, really) in a typical stabbing position and lunged at her chest with his right, dominant hand.

Like with the fork, Tereya was able to catch the stick far too easily. She raised both of their arms up and twisted the stick, in an attempt to break the bones of the arm holding it.

Nori released the stick immediately, before that was possible. Pivoting on his right foot, he whipped himself around and launched a kick at her midsection.

A surprised yelp came from her lips as the boot connected. She staggered off to the side in order to keep her balance. Once she recovered quite quickly, she raised her hands defensively again, flexing her fingers in apprehension.

With a simple, straight-foward move, Nori reeled his arm back as far as possible and launched a punch at Tereya's face.

Reflexively, Tereya raised one arm in order to intercept and knock his arm away, countering with a right to his own face.