Long See No Time. [Erika, Kisuke]

Erika couldn't say that she'd ever really gotten to know Urahara has a person, met him once or twice through Tsubaki? Yes but that was it and it was never really that personal despite knowing the type of shrewd individual that he was, and all his feats.. the ones that were known anyway. If there was one person who might be able to shine light and give good advice on Hell, Erika trusted that it was this man.

However.

How much would he give to her, she wanted all of it and to not get caught up in his games. That web that he cast, the illusion that he maintained. The idea of being given only enough information to satisfy what he wanted to give and to lead to his own conclusion was a frustrating one. It was a game, one that she had no time for either.

Necessary though and that's why the diligent vice-captain of the first division was standing outside of his store. Passing through the doors and grumbling.

"Kisuke Urahara!"

She called into the void of the store and leaning against the doorframe with a thoughtful expression.

Now, here came a sight you did not see every day. Erika Masamune was an impressive specimen, unique amongst even her fellow Shinigami and possessing some rather impressive assets to boot. But she was not here to discuss pleasantries, to exchange idle banter or debate philosophy, no-no. There was something rather important that had finally come to the Gotei's attention, and no doubt that had led them to ask the smartest person they could think of about it. Still, it was no fun to cut right to the chase.

"Miss Masamune, to what do I owe the pleasure? Or should I say Vice-captain? You've done rather well for yourself."

Kisuke arose from behind the counter like he had been sleeping behind it, raising himself up into the chair lazily so that he might observe Erika as she approached. There was no trademark hat upon his head, resting as it was upon the counter, but his face still wore a disarmingly pleasant smile. A hand ran through his pale blonde hair, sweeping some misplaced strands from his vision.

"Does the Captain-Commander require more supplies, I have been meaning to up my shipments ever since the transition took place..?"

"I came here for information, not to be fleeced by your business talks or arrangements with the Gotei."

She said with a faint scowl after he talked about upping his shipments to the Gotei under Murasaki, Erika would get to that later for now she had the urgent matter which the captain commander gave her and that was to acquire the knowledge of Urahara on the matters pertaining to Hell and the loss of Death.

"The Captain-Commander would like your input on the current situations surrounding the loss of Death and the impact it will have, you have a shrewd mindset and I have no doubt that a man like you has plenty to offer on the topic."

Erika did make it bleed into her words that she didn't want to play games, she wanted an exchange of information and then to tell him to get his ass back into captaincy instead of playing notorious shopkeeper known for neferious schemes.

"Information? Now that is a dangerous business."

The edges of Urahara's lips only curled upwards at the comment, clearly enjoying toying with her just as much as she expected him to. Though there was only so much blood that one could get from a stone and his well was drying up quickly. She certainly had that no-nonsense look about her that the previous Captain-Commander would have liked, which made it rather humourous that it had been Murasaki that had pulled her back into the Gotei family. Maybe she really did have a silver tongue. Though he doubted that had been a matter solved with words.

"Cutting to the chase, then? I suppose I'll do the due diligence first."

Rolling his eyes, the shopkeeper slid out from behind the counter and then blitzed past Erika with a flash step. Flipping the sign by the door from "Open" to "Closed", he turned back to face her and offered a soft sigh. There was the quiet hum of a forcefield beginning to envelop the Urahara Shop, putting at least one barrier between them and the outside world. One of many different defensive tools at his disposal, but they did come up so rarely after all.

"You know, there could have been any number of prying eyes or ears and you just spurt that stuff out. Suppose you're lucky that I am a step ahead of the game when it comes to counterespionage."

"So, the Captain-Commander wants to know about Death's death? What situations, in particular, is she interested in? There are several, so do try to be specific."

"My my, I didn't think you might've become dull in your old age to not anticipate this."

She said with a smug grin at watching him have to go about his business of making the shop more protected for the sake of their discussion, she would've thought that the residence of a couple of captains and a former kido corps commander would be protected for this kind of thing 24/7. Wasn't very smart of him, though Erika didn't discount the possibility that this was a ruse just to try and admonish her for being so bold.

"We'll start with the concern that Death was an entity utitlised by the demons as a battery, Deveta used his power for so much additional power which is now dried up, so what does this mean for the demons? Should we expect retaliation? Problems involving them which may turn into another war as they need resources?"

Erika wanted to know the immediate threat, the next matter was Hell itself and the consequences of Death's departure from the picture.

"l am trying to run a business here. Shutting up shop purely for the sakes of the Gotei potentially dropping by would be illogical. And you never do phone ahead.”

It was easy to play the part of the indignant shopkeeper, Kisuke had done it enough by now to have mastered the role. Truthfully, he wasn’t all that mad at Erika for poking fun. This was hardly the most egregious thing that the Gotei had done to him. Still, his dull gaze lingered on the diminutive Vice-Captain with what could have been mild irritation. Whether he was irritated by her disposition or her choice of question, though, remained to be seen.

"It would be foolish to turn a blind eye to the potential of another Demonic invasion. But they are fickle creatures, and the loss of Death has made many of those in power far weaker than it did their subordinates. They will fight amongst themselves first but maybe some of that chaos will spread into the other realms.”

Walking back across the room, he dusted off his bucket hat lazily before placing it back atop his head. Finally, the look was completed once more.

"That much you get for free. So, what else have you brought me?”

"Perhaps Urahara, you would be more informed of our intentions if you were among our ranks rather than being - how did it go? An simple store owner?"

Erika jabbed, feeling a little strange for admonishing him for wanting to remain out of the Gotei. They were her own feelings once upon a time before Murasaki changed that and she reluctantly returned to her mantle as vice-captain. Ah, they did need a Research and Development Captain, didn't they?

"It is our intentions to relieve the demons of their control over Hell, that realm is one that we would rather remain neutral rather than under their control due to its relation to our role as balancers but the question remains of how to approach that issue?"

She said, the greater purpose and the most difficult of questions to poise. How to once again secure Hell and let it remain self-sustaining, it was already but it remained as the home of Deveta. The guardians of hell were not truly guardians of the realm, they were guardians of the being that had made Hell his playground.

"We seek your wisdom on that matter."

That pleasant smile remained, though Kisuke's gaze now hid beneath the shade of his hat. All that remained to be seen were a pair of beady eyes that had begun to almost lazily wander around the room rather than focusing on Erika anymore.

"You're offering me a spot amongst your illustrious ranks again? Sorry, but I've danced to that beat before and it didn't work out. Besides, as far as sales pitches go, that was amongst the worst I've ever received."

A hand rose to scratch at his chin, itching the light stubble that had gathered upon it. He couldn't really blame her for trying, at least. Most people had forgotten what had gone down between the old Gotei and him, some days he wished that he had too, but some old wounds still ached. Besides, he had a little family of his own to take care of and this was a position for one not many. Still, a counter-proposal came to mind.

"So, instead, I'll give you my counsel as a third-party. In return, I want unrestricted access to an item that your R&D unit recovered from France quite recently. No more questions asked, no answers given unless I believe it pertinent to the security of Soul Society etcetera etcetera. Is that something you can agree to, at least?"

"For such a wise man, I didn't expect you to have such a narrow view of holding Captain Kagayaku to the sins of her predecessors but that's fine, you speak of good business in one breath but refuse the pathway to having such good business relations in the other."

Erika sighed though, she wasn't expecting to get him. Maybe the other captain that was around here would be easier. Might as well try after wrapping up business with him.

His next words did make her eyes narrow, a frown directed the shrewd businessman that revealed he had eyes into their operations and wanted to take advantage of them for his own ends.

"I do not have the authority to allow that nor would I even if I did. If you want unrestricted access to what the Third Division has in its possession then I would recommend taking up the mantle of its Captain to justify that access. Your insights are valuable but they are just words at the end of the day and I don't think that's a good deal."

She knew he would try and fleece her at some point in this encounter, it was just a matter of when and now was apparently the answer.

“So now it’s a Captain’s position, with unrestricted access to the items you’ve been secreting away from the masses? See, you should start with the benefits first and leave the downsides to my imagination rather than letting me do all the legwork. You will have to get better at this, you know.”

Urahara chastised Erika softly, in a manner similar to a teacher talking to a struggling student. He wanted her to succeed, after all, and he had such high hopes for Murasaki’s tenure at the top of the food chain that it would be rather reductive of him not to try and help out. She certainly had the right attitude, the preppy little go-getter, it just needed some refining.

“But if unrestricted access is off the table then what about restricted access? I meet with your current head of research and we can study the item together and compare notes. Then, at least, I could judge the calibre of a potential Vice-Captain.”

Leaning back against the counter now, his gaze flicked back to Erika in time to throw her a cheeky wink. He was playing with his food, but if she wanted him to be coy then coy he would be.