Let me try to direct your mind.

New place, new city, new home. Nothing was the same any more; a distance far from her original home, her mother hardly spoke and her father...gone, the young Emiko had to deal with the situation she was now in. She was sent here for a good reason after all. Though, it never changed the fact that she was simply homesick. She wanted something -- an embrace of love and affection from the man that meant the world to her. Especially after all she has been through. However, for now she simply had to cope with the sudden change. She did have everything she would need. A home; A mansion that was beautiful and large enough for herself to get lost in and then her guards. She was never an ear shot away from them.

Anything she could ask for, she could gain. It wasn't like her to sit and ask for things she knew she didn't need though. She wasn't needy even though she was spoiled. in fact, Emi liked being a wee vastly independent. She liked doing things on her own even though most of the time, she knew she would need the help. Take now, for instance; Emi wore her casual outfit and as scandalous as it appeared, she was too innocent for people to assume things. Wearing her mini-skirt, knee high boots and a matching coat over a white undershirt, she walked down the sidewalk. She was out trying to learn the town and figure out what sort of differences there were compared to her home in America. The long, pink hair of hers moved ever gracefully as a breeze of wind passed by, luckily her skirt was kept down. The only noticeable attire accesory that she wore were the dogtags that hung from her neck despite the fact that she has never been engaged in military combat.

Even though she grew accustomed to it, she still found it sort of an embarrassment. She thought people looked at her and laughed at her, called her a freak or something along those lines. She remembered what her parents had told her and learned to accept it, but the thought still remained. With each step she took down the side walk, Emi's eyes looked around. The passing townspeople would look at her; some smiled while others would look in amusement of a foreigner. She felt a bit self-conscious, but she had to think that quite possibly it had nothing to do with her appearance. Giving shy smiles back, she would try and be friendly. She would continue to walk until she came down toward a empty bench along the side of the side walk. She decided to take a seat only for her to exhale a sigh.

"I miss home..," She said quietly to herself as her feet were in a coy position, pointed inward as her hands gripped the underside of the bench. "I want to go back.."

It wasn't long before the sound of something eerie crying out. She looked around, but no one seemed to have heard it. She stared off into the distance, the hairs on the back of her neck stood up as she grew tense. She didn't like this. She stood up. She began to walk down the sidewalk even further.

A large crash alerted her to the giant mass darkness shimmering before her eyes. She didn't know what it was, but it was destroying part of the city. It paused in its attack to scream once again. She covered her ears and closed her eyes. "No no no this isn't happening!" She opened her eyes and saw the giant hand of the hollow slam into her body. She was thrown across the street and landed in the wreckage of a food stand. She grabbed her sides, and looked on at the beast overbearing her. She coughed painfully, she had seemingly had at least two or three ribs broken. She spat out a wad of blood, and began to issue tears. Both of pain and fear. The creature became clear to her.

A large bipedal Hollow. He had a large muscular upper body, indicating he relied on his brute strength to attack. His skin was gray, with dark 'S' markings running from his shoulders to the middle of his back. His mask resembles the face of a guardian lion, and stood nearly sixteen feet in height. Emi could only lay there amongst the debris, frozen in fear and pain. She was going to die. She didn't want to die. Not right now, not like this.

*BANG!* the sound of a rifle's report boomed through the street of Karakura Circle, breaking the mood as Emiko lay there in the wreckage, awaiting her apparently imminent demise. Time seemed to slow as this final scene played out for the girl. Above her towered the large Hollow, it's arms extended downwards as it reached for the helpless body and the sweet soul within. Within the middle of it's great, lion-like head, a hole appeared, that Rifle shot fading in the echoes. In the heartbeat that followed, a massive eruption of ichor burst forth from what had been only seconds earlier been a complete head. In it's wake lay only a pile of the black goop, as the hollow's form faded away.

Quincy-Marine Ryder stood afar off in the distance, eye still expertly sighted through her rifle's scope as she watched the child for signs of injury. If there was one thing Ryder absolutely could not stand, it was to see children in danger, or to watch them suffer. ~Poor thing got slammed pretty hard to break that stand, she has to be in pain,~ she reasoned to herself, returning the rifle to it's place on her back and taking a few quick, long hirenkyaku steps down into the street and into a side alleyway, before casually walking out of it and glancing the girl's way.

"Oh my god what happened!?" she exclaimed in English, as a woman of her appearance would no doubt be expected to do, before running over to check on the girl. "Are you ok? What did this? What's your name? Do you even speak English?" quickly the questions poured out of her, as though she were a good Samaritan who had just stumbled onto the scene. Fortunately, since coming here Ryder had learned to synthesize various Reishi materials, and as such, her miscellaneous weapons would be perfectly invisible to any mundane person, so she wouldn't scare the girl with the guns. "You're going to be ok" she whispered soothingly as she pulled out her cell phone, and began to dial the number to call for an ambulance.

Emi pushed herself up, and immediately snatched the phone out Ryder's hand. She stumbled backward, and ran into the wall. She heaved ragged breaths, a clear indication to the level of damage to her body. She cleared the number and tossed the phone back toward Ryder. She winced in pain as she drew in the air to speak. Not only did this woman aid her first, but she was carrying weapons. By the level of damage to the...the thing, it was that Rifle she carried. Emi coughed harshly, as people stared at her. This was looking bad.

"You're the one who shot that monster, with that Rifle no less" Emiko stated through the pain. Her tough girl demeanor didn't last long, before she collapsed to her knees. The pain was beyond anything she had ever known. She grabbed the wall, and tried to stand up. Her body attempting to compensate for the lack of strength, began to pour out Reiatsu in order to supplement her strength. As she got back on her feet, she looked at the woman. "Tell me...how you killed it"

Clearly she was in position to be talking and yet she seemed beyond determined to know. She wiped the blood from her lips and looked on as guards came running toward her. She moved up against the wall, as they came running up. "Miss are you alright? Do you need an ambulance? What happened?" She summoned all the strength she had, and without any indication to her injuries. She barked out orders. "Go get the car, so I can go home...NOW" They looked puzzled then ran off to get the car. She turned back to Ryder. "I owe you my life. Please, how can I help you?" She spoke with clear intention of a woman in debt. But even in this state, too much movement would result in her puncturing a lung on her own rib.

Caught up in her worry over the girl, Ryder didn't even notice her reaching for the phone, only to have it snatched out of her hand and the number cleared away. Right here infront of her this child forced herself on through such pain, rejecting an ambulence only to talk to her about her Rifle and the Hollow. ~Wait... she could see it? After she recovers I might have to talk with this girl a bit more.~ By now, a group of onlookers were beginning to gather around, too many spectator's for Ryder's taste. The night wouldn't hide her identity forever, especially with all the street lights about.

A glance to the side showed a group of men running their way, concerned looks painted across their faces. Stepping aside, but making sure to stay in easy reach of her should she be needed, Ryder watched on as the men asked her if she was alright, only to be given orders and proceed to follow them. This young woman, whoever she was, seemed to be in full authority over those men, despite her young age. "You can help me by going to the hospital young one. Get your wounds treated, you're hurting pretty badly. You should have let me call an ambulence, but I can see at this point there's no good in stopping you now."

Remaining with the girl while the men fetched the car, Ryder couldn't help but wonder why such a child had been alone outside at this time of night. The men seemed to be servants or guards of some sort, but they hadn't been there when she had needed them to be her shield, so what good were they? As she waited by the girl's side, a sudden spike of Reiatsu caught Ryder's weak senses, emanating from the girl. "There is a lot we need to talk about. Please, meet me at the hospital, and don't die." Even as she spoke the words, the car was pulling around the corner and sliding into park by the side of the road, only for Ryder to fade back into the crowd and disappear.

Emi was about to try and force the answers from her, but her head was spinning. Before she knew it, she blacked out.
“Where am I?” A world devoid of all life. Dust blew across this savage waste. The moon is high within the twilight sky. Clouds of black smoke float about. It is hard to breath. The air here is impure and it burns his lungs. Emi has never breathed in fire before. Now she knew what it was like. The dust is not just dust, some of it is ash. That very ash burns her throat. Hard to speak, let alone breath. The very world is nothing more than a barren waste. All that is are a few swords sticking out of the ground. Why though? What do they represent? Is there some meaning behind them? Perhaps a brave warrior, no warriors, were barred here. A tribute to a battle fought long ago.

So why, why does this place feel like home? There is no discomfort, no worry somewhere is here. The girl asks “Who is there?” yet she already knows. A place so familiar. She shouldn't know, this place was never visited by her soul. Can she not remember? What is wrong with her? Her dogtags sat in the sand. “It cant be.” She checked her neck, but they were not there. She reached down to grab them. A pair she received long ago. The dogtags could not be pulled from the barren earth. “Gah! Come on out!” Right now it was impossible for her to achieve such a feat.

Not far away is a beautiful long barreled .44mm. It seems to shimmer above all the earth. That very gun called to Haru, yet rejected her. She reaches out, yet the gun pushes back. In fact, looking at the gun gives her a headache. Does the sword not wish for her, or can she just simply not see it yet? The blur can not be read. Emi can not comprehend such a thing right now. The image in her mind can not exist. The moment Emi tried to realize what this place truly was her mind went static. “I…..” she can not comprehend her own world.

This world is a mirror. It reflects Emi’s very soul. While in truth it is not an inner world like a shinigami’s, it is a place of creation. There is nothing in this world, because Emi has yet to fill it. This dream world, a world how Emi envisions her life, this place must be filled with her dreams. Here is where she may create anything, do anything, become anything, but there is a problem. The girl does not know herself where she must go. Therefore there is no meaning, no hope, for this barren plan of existence.

Why are you here? You do not deserve this life. No, you deserve freedom. Freedom from pain, from everyone. Look at you, you try and try, yet nothing ever goes your way. No matter how long you strive, you can never end your pain. Why bother?

She awoke to a bright light, it took a second for her eyes to adjust to the white ceiling. She laid in a bed...in a hospital. The soft beeping of the heart rate monitor sounded over and over like clockwork. Sterilized instruments, cheap perfume, and rain. These things filled her nostrils immediately and she gagged on them. Before her coughs got too rough, her body reminded her of her injuries. Oh yea, that's right. She was attacked by that creature...and saved by that woman. If she had died just then, maybe she would have been able to just see her father one final time. At that thought, she reached up and grasped her dogtags. Oh, they were still there. What a weird dream she had. She wondered what it even meant, her fallen dogtags could not be picked up.

Emi was about to try and force the answers from her, but her head was spinning. Before she knew it, she blacked out.
“Where am I?” A world devoid of all life. Dust blew across this savage waste. The moon is high within the twilight sky. Clouds of black smoke float about. It is hard to breath. The air here is impure and it burns his lungs. Emi has never breathed in fire before. Now she knew what it was like. The dust is not just dust, some of it is ash. That very ash burns her throat. Hard to speak, let alone breath. The very world is nothing more than a barren waste. All that is are a few swords sticking out of the ground. Why though? What do they represent? Is there some meaning behind them? Perhaps a brave warrior, no warriors, were barred here. A tribute to a battle fought long ago.

So why, why does this place feel like home? There is no discomfort, no worry somewhere is here. The girl asks “Who is there?” yet she already knows. A place so familiar. She shouldn't know, this place was never visited by her soul. Can she not remember? What is wrong with her? Her dogtags sat in the sand. “It cant be.” She checked her neck, but they were not there. She reached down to grab them. A pair she received long ago. The dogtags could not be pulled from the barren earth. “Gah! Come on out!” Right now it was impossible for her to achieve such a feat.

Not far away is a beautiful long barreled .44mm. It seems to shimmer above all the earth. That very gun called to Haru, yet rejected her. She reaches out, yet the gun pushes back. In fact, looking at the gun gives her a headache. Does the sword not wish for her, or can she just simply not see it yet? The blur can not be read. Emi can not comprehend such a thing right now. The image in her mind can not exist. The moment Emi tried to realize what this place truly was her mind went static. “I…..” she can not comprehend her own world.

This world is a mirror. It reflects Emi’s very soul. While in truth it is not an inner world like a shinigami’s, it is a place of creation. There is nothing in this world, because Emi has yet to fill it. This dream world, a world how Emi envisions her life, this place must be filled with her dreams. Here is where she may create anything, do anything, become anything, but there is a problem. The girl does not know herself where she must go. Therefore there is no meaning, no hope, for this barren plan of existence.

Why are you here? You do not deserve this life. No, you deserve freedom. Freedom from pain, from everyone. Look at you, you try and try, yet nothing ever goes your way. No matter how long you strive, you can never end your pain. Why bother?

She awoke to a bright light, it took a second for her eyes to adjust to the white ceiling. She laid in a bed...in a hospital. The soft beeping of the heart rate monitor sounded over and over like clockwork. Sterilized instruments, cheap perfume, and rain. These things filled her nostrils immediately and she gagged on them. Before her coughs got too rough, her body reminded her of her injuries. Oh yea, that's right. She was attacked by that creature...and saved by that woman. If she had died just then, maybe she would have been able to just see her father one final time. At that thought, she reached up and grasped her dogtags. Oh, they were still there. What a weird dream she had. She wondered what it even meant, her fallen dogtags could not be picked up.

Seated silently in one of the chairs used for visitors, Ryder had waited patiently for the girl to awaken. It had been a longer wait than she would have hoped, with the girl sleeping soundly, almost as though in a trance. The time had been useful, however, giving the woman time to gather her thoughts and come to a conclusion as to how she would approach the child about what had happened out there.

"I see you're finally awake." The words must seem sudden to the girl, who had just grasped the dog tags on her chest a moment prior. "I imagine you have tons of questions about what happened earlier, but try to take it slow kid. You just had a pretty major emergency procedure, you're not going to be at your full strength." Pausing a moment, the woman rose and strode over to greet her young companion at the bedside.

If she were to look up, Emiko would see a sight that starkly contrasted the woman's earlier appearance. Gone were the weapons, the cloak, the belt, and the rest of what made her hunting gear so peculiar. In it's stead was a pale, grey-tinted green dress that hugged Ryder's slightly exaggerated hourglass figure, flaring at the bottom in a failed attempt to mask her hips.

Near-white, platinum blonde hair framed a fair featured face, slightly tanned from years of exposure to the elements. At the center of it all rested a pair of peaceful, yet intense eyes, mixed of grey and green, taking in everything around them "Please forgive me for not introducing myself earlier, I'm not much for crowds if I can avoid them. My name is Barrie, but my friends call me Ryder. If there's anything you wish to know, please don't hesitate to ask me, but do take it easy ok?"

This woman. So casually at her beside. She looked around the room, her mother wasn't here. Why did she even expect that woman to care? She probably paid the doctors to take care of her, and perform whatever they needed. Life threatening or not. She reached over and grasped her chart. She looked it over, translating the Japanese into English for her own understanding. The thing about Japanese or any language that she spoke. They never translated well, but she understood the meaning regardless. She tossed the chart on the ground and flopped back into the bed. A single broken rib, a bruised sternum, and three bruised ribs. Two months, and she would be back to normal, or so the chart said. She already knew how quickly she healed. It was inhuman. She looked at the woman once again...Barrie. No wonder people called her Ryder. For a woman it was rather bizarre, however, Junpei was an American born girl with a Japanese name. No less, she called herself Emi. Japanese custom dictated once you receive someone else's name you are obligated to tell them your own. "My name is Junpei Kazamashiro Dahlinghouse. You may call me whatever you like. Junpei, Emi, Kaza, Mashiro, or Dolly. I have so many nicknames, you can have your pick. She looked out the window. It was strange speaking in English after having spent the last three month's speaking Japanese. As she remembered the night previous. A monstrous beast, with a sinister presence. It smacked her like she was a ragdoll, and this woman killed it with a single shot. Furthermore, the people in the area acted as if they couldn't see it. Did that mean it was a spirit? How annoying.

"What was that thing, and furthermore what are you?" Emi shook her head, as she thought about how she said it. "I indeed owe you my life, but I need to know what I'm getting into first" Junpei was hoping to gain a hold on her life. She was seldom this lost in her own life. She hated her life, but that didn't mean she wished to die. She just wanted clarity on why this was happening now of all times. She threw back the covers and hopped out of bed, cringing as the impact wracked her bones. She wrenched the liquids from under her skin, and shuddered at the feeling. It was always weird to her. She walked into the bathroom and closing the door to a crack. She wanted to hear the woman, but not be vile enough to leave the door wide open. As she relieved herself of the excess liquid in her body, she felt better. She washed her hands, and looked at her ragged red hair. It was unsightly, but at this point she didn't care. She exited the bathroom, and sat at the edge of her bed. Listening.

Ryder simply stood by and watched as the girl fussed with some charts before giving her own name in return, and offering a slew of potential nicknames to go with them. "Emiko will do for now, with so many nicknames I should probably wait and let one happen on it's own." There was a fierceness in the girl's eyes that Ryder could not oppose, a determination to stand on her own feet by the woman's estimation, though she had never mastered the art of reading people.

"That thing is called a Hollow, and I, am a soldier" answered Ryder cryptically, prepared to slowly build her way into the subject and reveal more of what she was and further explain the situation tothe child. Before she could say any more, however, the redhead forced herself out of bed, ripping away the IV feeds and staggering pridefully to the bathroom. Following in the girl's wake came the words, "I'll wait until you're finished."

As she awaited Emiko's return, Ryder took a proper Parade Rest Stance, hands clasped behind her back and posture held straight. "As I was saying, Emiko..." she began as the teen made her way back to the bed, "that was a Hollow. They're a malevolant kind of spirit that people can turn into if their souls aren't taken to heaven soon enough after they die." It wasn't quite perfect, but it explained fairly well without getting into the exact minutia of how the real afterlife worked.

"Regrettably Emiko, you are getting into a very dangerous world. After what I saw out there earlier, I have no doubt that this is only the first of many of those monsters are going to come after you. With the 'angels' being such lazy bastards, those things are growing far more numerous than they used to be, and it's only getting worse as time goes on."

Hollow was a Earthbound spirit. That wreaked havoc on people so long as it exists. Not only that, but there were more than the one that she encountered. Furthermore, this woman dispatched it easily. Without even batting an eye no less. A soldier she says. She had never heard of such a soldier before, sure she had the Parade Rest down to a certain science. But nowadays, any moron with a movie could emulate that stance. She gripped her Dogtags. Daddy. Her Dogtags pulsed,, but failed to react. She glanced up at the woman known as Barrie, or Ryder.

"What this have to do with me? I've always been able to see Spirits, always been able to jump higher and run faster. But this thing attacks me out of the blue. I've never felt such an overpowering feeling. I felt helpless...hopeless." She looked at her once again. A soldier, huh. "My father was a 4th Special Operations Group, Special Forces. Attached to the 82nd Airborne Division. He died...in some kind of freak accident. He always believed me when I told him I could see things that no one else could, he told me he believed me...because he was attacked by a spirit before he met my mother. I guess it was a Hollow. He used to joke about how I was cursed because the dead touched him. It made me laugh as a young girl... Her head hung and her hair fell over her face, as she played with the Dogtags. Tears welling up in the girl's eyes. Clearly calling upon the source of all her pain in life, the loss of the only light within her dimly lit world.

"This isn't child's play, you know."

"I know."

"Even if you do decide to master it, it won't mean I--"

"Yes you will, dad. I've already got the gun and some magazines; surely you noticed this when I left this morning?"

Michael Dahlinghouse sighed, rubbing his temples as he stared at the phone on his desk. "And where will you train?"

"Ah, I thought about that for a while. California's huge, but almost completely industrialized. I managed to find a small thicket behind a city park, so it'll do," Junpei replied, a lopsided smile on her face as she tore down the street, Bluetooth earpiece blinking over her ear.

"I'm taking no responsibility if you start a fire." Michael laughed and shook his head. "Nah, I just didn't want to use the training hall at the mansion. And besides, training inside's a bore; I have to be outside if I want to be productive..."

"How very contradictory of you to say, considering we are all Dahlinghouse."

"Swindles have their place outside corporate walls," came Junpei's response. The balding father on the other end of the line snickered and nodded.

"Fine then. Take what you need, and get going. Don't call back until you hit the ace at 500 yards." Michael grinned, muttering a quick good-bye before hanging up. Turning a corner, she looked to the passenger seat, where a bag chock-full of lollipops lay.

The last time she had spoken to him. A painful memory. Calling his phone, over and over with no response. Her body shook violently as she recalled the emotions. She gripped the dogtags hard, until they began to cut into her skin. Daddy...I miss you She felt the tears pour from her eyes. She was weak. So weak that it hurt.

These questions had been coming to be sure, and Ryder had been prepared to answer them before she had so much as step foot into the hospital, but for the child to have had a military father, and to have lost him in an accident of some sort... it caught Ryder off-guard. She had to wonder for a moment, how she would have handled losing her own father in such a scenario.

Lieutenant-Colonel Hughes had been a traditional, strict military father in most regards, but he had been a precious father to her, and understood her in ways her own mother never could have. As a tomboy, it had been he who had served as her primary parent, rather than her mother. Teaching her to shoot, taking her on hunting trips, playing videogames and sports with her, he had been a pillar of strength for the girl. Where her mother had shunned her when she got pregnant, the Lieutenant-Colonel had supported his little Barrie through it all, even offering to help raise her little one if Ryder had chosen to keep it.

"I wish there was an easy answer Junpei. You've had a burden placed on you that I got to escape growing up. My powers didn't awaken on their own, and I got to live a normal childhood. Can't say there weren't times I would have liked to have had power at my disposal as a teenager, but in my estimation the burden outweighs the benefits." Turning around, Ryder gently took a seat on the bed next to the sobbing girl and gently wrapped an arm around her shoulder, lightly tugging Junpei into a soft embrace.

"You aren't normal, and neither am I. We have a power inside us, one that enables us to fight on par with or superior to those monsters. The problem, however, is that this power also draws them like flies to honey. Those things want to eat people like us, to grow stronger. So your stuck killing those things, or letting them kill you. Your father was fortunate to have survived an attack, and that's why I use my power for more than just defending myself, but actively hunt those things to try to protect others." Her words of comfort complete, Ryder grew silent, simply holding the girl, offering what comfort and strength she could, from one military daughter to another in her time of need.

Emi felt the embrace as she explained, Emi leaned in on Ryder. Her tears halting momentarily. If she had the power. She had the power to destroy these things. She was the sole heiress to a massive fortune, spoiled to no end, but unhappy nonetheless. It was true, money couldn't buy happiness. She was 14 years old, and had not a single friend. Never dated a single boy. She had requests, but she couldn't allow herself to be caught up in the fickle emotions of an adolescent boy. She was the definition of alone. The single thing that drove her forward, the only thought that kept her from ending her existence, was the memory of her father. How would he have reacted to see his beloved daughter commit suicide? She couldn't face him in any lifetime with that hanging over her head. These hollows, they started the problem with her family...she would be the one to end them.

Emi clutched her Dogtags tighter. "Teach me...teach me to do as you do. Hunt them down and kill them." Emi wouldn't accept being normal when she wasn't. She tried to fit in, when she outclassed many around her. It wasn't by choice, but by birth. Her father wasn't the rich one, he took pride in the Military. It was his dream to be a soldier on the frontlines, since the days he grew up as a boy watching the G.I. Joe cartoons. Her mother, however, was strictly business. She was a conniving snake of a woman, who manipulated her clients to spending more than required and soaking in the extra without anyone becoming wise. She was tactful in the art of Business and it showed as she had amassed a little over one-hundred-and-forty-six million United States Dollars, which equated to the billions when converted into Yen. "I want to destroy as many as I can. I can't allow people to suffer as I have. Please teach me how to use my power"

Emi clung to Ryder, her eyes moist and pleading. She hardly thought that bribing this woman would be worth anything. But she was surely going to support this woman in whatever her endeavors transpired. Financially, without doubt. Socially, to the best of her ability. If the time came, she would give her life for Ryder's, she owed her that much. Emi's head fell slightly as she spoke again. "I'd compensate your time. I'd...I'd pay you like a corporate CEO...You could live in my Manor...I'll give you anything within my power. Just please...please take me with you"

This feeling, of holding a young girl in her arms, was at the same time both strange and 'right' to Ryder. This girl she now held was not far from the age her own daughter would have been, and here she was, begging Ryder to help her, to support and guide her. As the child gushed with pleas to help her, Ryder simply held her closely, softly stroking that long red hair of hers. Was this fate? Was the universe giving her a second chance? An opportunity to make up for giving her child up for adoption? Choosing to ignore the implications of this girl's teenage awakening and what her daughter would have to endure if that had been the case to her, Ryder instead devoted herself to the teenage girl that she COULD help in the here and now.

"Junpei, you don't have to pay me anything little one" Ryder explained softly, holding the girl tightly to her breast in comfort. "I can't promise how much good I'll do as a Mentor, you'd be the first person I ever taught anything to one on one, the closest thing I've ever had to an apprentice was my short tenure as a drill instructor, but I will do my best." Reaching down with her free hand, Ryder gently brushed the tears out of the girl's eyes before shifting to embrace her in both arms, awkwardly following her motherly instinct over her habitually hard and distant demeanor. "I may take you up on that living arrangement though. I've got a small apartment that's starting to grow annoying, and it's a pain in the ass trying to avoid the neighbors while slipping out at night."

Infact, Ryder had been looking for some private property, but in the middle of a city such a thing was difficult and insanely expensive at best, when it was even possible. "However, I have to wonder how your mother would respond to such an offer? Surely you don't live alone, do you June-pie? Beyond the servants or whatever those guys were..." a slight smile crossed the woman's lips as she glanced down at the child. She was certainly attractive enough for it, but those men had been far too old to be her fanboys. Any guy that old that left his eyes on Jun was going to be in a world of hurt if Ryder ever found out about it.

Emi felt the light hand, brush away her tears. It was rather soothing, something inside her changed. The raging storm inside her calmed to a gentle breeze. Was this what it meant to be happy? The feeling was so alien to her at this point that she had forgotten the warmth it gave her. She pushed off Ryder and sat up, taking a deep breath trying to regain her composure. She looked at Ryder and then stood up once again. Clearly not happy about her appearance. She grabbed her clothes out from the corner and began to dress. As she slipped out the paper gown, she replied. No sense leaving Ryder out of her life so far.

June felt the light hand, brush away her tears. It was rather soothing, something inside her changed. The raging storm inside her calmed to a gentle breeze. Was this what it meant to be happy? The feeling was so alien to her at this point that she had forgotten the warmth it gave her. She pushed off Ryder and sat up, taking a deep breath trying to regain her composure. She looked at Ryder and then stood up once again. Clearly not happy about her appearance. She grabbed her clothes out from the corner and began to dress. As she slipped out the paper gown, she replied. No sense leaving Ryder out of her life so far.

She pulled on her socks, and then her boots. She grunted trying to get the boots on. She hated the french boots, they were damn tight, but they looked amazing. She stood up, and began to rotate her arms. Trying to grasp the full-motion of her ability to use them, before she felt pain. None so far. She'd have to figure out the brunt of pain she'd absorb before a handgun would hurt her. She picked up an Ipod and placed a earphone in one ear. Still charged. She cycled through the songs, and played one of her favorite songs. She opened the door, and looked down the hall. She spotted a black figure at the end of the hall. She waved to him, and he would come into the room a few minute later. Giving Ryder time to get in a few more words in private.

Rather than try to force her, Ryder simply released the girl as she pushed away, and forcefully regained her composure. Watching the girl change without shame or interest, the woman listened as the child explained a bit about her living situation, with a Mother who hated Americans and America for whatever reasons, and avoided her entirely. If the girl's hair, figure, and accent were any indication, it seemed that she was a half-breed like Ryder herself.

In fact, a close look at the two would reveal surprising similarities, such that it wouldn't be difficult to come to the conclusion this child was Ryder's own daughter. They both had thin bodies blessed... and cursed with obvious curves that stuck out like a sore thumb. The girl didn't have Ryder's hips, but had the same annoying bubble that no doubt influenced her choice of a skirt over pants, and would likely grow into a similar figure given a few more years. The red hair was explained away easily enough, especially with the way hair genetics worked.