Roll With It [Rafaela, Alastor]

While Rafaela could hardly say that she'd enjoyed her time here in France, she was at least glad that it had been productive. She'd had to flex her position a bit more than she'd have liked, and strongarmed herself into more than a few places that she probably shouldn't have been, but in the end she'd managed to leave Paris with quite a few records that she was quite certain would help her investigation out further. The full records of an orphanage now empty and abandoned, all to be handed over to her emperor once she'd managed to return.

Of course, it wasn't going to be that easy. She'd already had to deal with two hitmen, and she was absolutely sure that at least three more were on her tail. This was bad. Real bad, in fact, and as she walked through the empty lands of France, Rafaela's attention stayed firmly around her. Even at her size, she was tense, ready for anyone that approached, and her eyes at least briefly flitted over every person she passed on the road just in case they proved to be her next foe.

Anyone could have been a threat, and that wasn't exactly comforting out here.

One job after another, the old French countryside wasn't an unfamiliar one but given the old Shadow Fall occupation there was a lot less hollows around here than he was used to. Good improvements, having to fight 'em off was always such a pain in the ass. Now it was a lot calmer in regards to work rather than getting the risk of being jumped by some demon or hollow goons at every corner. Bleh, just a piece of the job. Right?

Alastor was on the way towards Paris moreso than leaving it, he was still tucked away inside of his body rather than ditching it. With the new changes around here, it was a lot easier to justify not having to leave it laying around somewhere until he was done. Though something did catch his eye, mainly that he had to look no small distance down. He wasn't the tallest guy but she definitely wasn't winning any awards in the height department - especially not compared to Murasaki, is this how he looked to her from up there?

"Hey lass, you look pretty spooked. There a hollow around here or something? I'm Alastor from the Gotei."

Besides the fact that there was a substitute badge just hanging from his waist there was nothing really to indicate that he looked anything other than a civilian. C'mon, he wasn't stupid! That was by intention here if he wanted to blend in and not draw looks every turn. Speaking of drawing attention though, this girl looked like a scene starter. At least from this angle he could fob off her breasts and head being caught in the same shot. Score.

The moment the redhead had approached her, Rafaela's whole body tensed up just for the briefest of moments, a clear indication to anyone with proper training that she'd been nearly ready to start a fight just from the word go. Of course, she didn't do so, and he wasn't one of the people she'd been keeping an eye out for. Relaxing herself and taking a quick breath to cool down, Rafaela put a hand on her hip and looked up into this guy's eyes with her usual cocky grin. Could've been worse, she always had to really crane her neck with His Majesty.

"The Gotei, huh? Nice to see one of you! You guys were a big help back during the war, you know. One of your captains spent a while in Italy, so I appreciate it a lot. No Hollows around from what I can tell, but I've got a few people on my tail that seem to think they can handle me."

Of course, they probably could, if they all caught her at once. She'd managed to deal with the first few, but she doubted that would keep being the case as they wisened up.

"I wouldn't head into the city if I were you. That whole place is terrible, even if you ignore these folks trying to ruin my day."

This chick had spunk, was the first thought that came to mind with her really gutsy attitude that her small stature didn't play along with at all. Kind of like Elyss if he thought about it like that but he wasn't going to linger on it. She did say some pretty heavy shit after all. Guys chasing her and all. Now why'd that be chasing her? His gut told him to try and investigate a little bit into this situation.

"Ah well you know, no biggie and all. Good to get those damn Shadies out of this place considering I grew up 'round here myself."

He didn't even think to clarify that "Shadies" were the nickname he and his brother had stuck to Shadow Fall given their occupation of France most of their lives.

"You're right though, hated the city growing up but figure I can't be slack and not check the place out just because I don't care for it. What'd you do to get guy's chasing you? You don't really look like an escaped criminal to get that kind of attention or are guys just not getting the idea of being shot down?"

Yeah, that was a funny joke he thought. Just break the ice a little bit between them and see if she'd warm up and feel comfortable sharing what exactly was the situation here. Admittedly he didn't think he was really good at the whole friendly thing, Himiko was far better at this kind of thing than he thought he was himself.

"Isn't that the truth? Having them gone's like a breath of fresh air."

Patting the bag she kept at her side, Rafaela turned her head back only briefly toward Paris, keeping an eye out for anyone else on their way out. Thankfully, though, it seemed as though there wasn't much but empty fields and a small handful of other travelers. Definitely fine for now.

"I can't exactly say any specifics, but I'm here on orders from the Holy Roman Emperor for a little investigation. You know, the sort of important work he sends a big girl like me to handle. I think this is probably the sort of thing that people definitely don't want me having, and all these bad dudes chasing me down only makes me more sure about it. Good thing I'm too good for them to get."

Tapping the sword at her hip, Rafaela tightened the bag's strap around her shoulder (which, luckily for Alastor, also brought the strap a bit more snugly between her breasts and made them that much more prominent) before fixing her hat.

"Don't suppose you're looking to get a nice word in with the Holy Roman Emperor? I'd be sure to talk about the big strong shinigami that helped out one of his Free Imperial Knights, and my word goes a long way. I'm what you'd call a big deal."

There was that spunk again but her words left more on his mind than staring at those colossal tits on her chest which God saw fit to emphasise with that strap. He looked far too thoughtful to fill his head with that kind of stuff. Holy Roman Emperor, Holy Roman Emperor. Emperor... emperor.

"Wait a minute... emperor? Like Himiko's boyfriend, that emperor?"

Damn, it just hit like lightning. Whenever they were doing menial work around the barracks he found the woman with the peculiar features to be a little too friendly and one thing he really didn't care about was gossip and girltalk which she did plenty of with whoever she was with. He was sure that she just wouldn't be quiet about what was the most handsome and greatest boyfriend one could want.

"Uhh. Anyway, back to the task at hand. I don't really care about anyone's good graces but it looks like a big deal and wouldn't be right of me to leave you with a bunch of goons chasing you. Yeah obviously I'll give you a hand."

After all, what kind of guy would he be if he just ditched this girl when she needed help? He wasn't a bitch.

"Ah, right she is in the Gotei, isn't she? You guys work together? It really is a small world, even when you've got a whole other world involved."

That actually changed things quite a bit though, at least in Rafaela's mind. Someone the Emperor's girlfriend knew was someone that she should definitely try and keep in good shape through all this, and she didn't like the idea of putting him into a dangerous position. Then again, working together on this would definitely make for a good working relationship...

Alright, good thinking.

"Hey, I respect that. Honestly, means more to me that you're just doing it to do it. Alright, let's get going then. I'm not trying to go too quick about it, that'd just draw more attention I think. They think I'm traveling alone, so if we move together it should make things a little easier. Ah, hang on."

Removing her hat as she began to walk, Rafaela tucked it into the bag at her hip alongside the documentation regarding Duvalier. She then reached up and undid the ties holding up her hair, leaving the near-mane to cascade downward.

"Whole new woman now."

"Probably lose the jacket too. Hat helps but that jacket's still has the same look and if you were wearing that, the guys chasing you will probably look for it more than whatever you have underneath."

It was just pragmatic thinking but it did occur to him that he sure did just imply taking another layer covering those tits off. He told himself it was just coincidence and that it was absolutely pragmatic of a response. She was hot but he'd grown pretty fond of Murasaki and was pretty sure the squirt didn''t compare to his girlfriend's assets like the extra foot of height that she had on her. Heh.

"Anyway, where exactly are we headed? I assume towards Italy or Germany based on this current direction?"

"Good thinking. You keep that up and we'll have all this handled no trouble."

Unbuttoning her coat, she quickly removed it and folded it neatly before sliding it into her bag alongside her hat. The usual white top she wore underneath was not nearly as eye-catching, but as her new companion had pointed out, that helped a good bit with things.

"Thanks for the help, Alastor. Name's Rafaela, by the way. We're heading for Germany, I figure it shouldn't be too long of a trip. Hope you don't mind the detour though, I don't think this'll just be a quick overnight."

"Rafaela, huh. Got it."

He shrugged as she explained that it might be a while. Worst case scenario he'd just let Murasaki know that he was delayed in his patrol. At least she'd know that he wasn't slacking off and was being thorough by aiding Earth and he guessed that this counted as building up diplomatic relationships.

"Konigsburg?"

Well if she was heading towards Germany, he just had to guess that it was towards the Emperor himself. It made sense since she was so stingy on the details about what was in there, just the priority and he wasn't an idiot despite his temperment.

"So how long you been doing this kind of thing?"