(Los Noches, Throne Room)

Nemesis smiles at her, a genuine smile instead of one of his usual false ones or his signature grin. "Happy Birthday, Akane." He walks forwards, and hugs her tightly, smiling still. She nods. "Thank you.." Her arms wrap around him, and hug him back slowly. She frowned, thinking about the entire day so far. Apparently, Nemesis had been shocked when she told him she hadn't celebrated birthday's before. It was just a date, nothing too big. But it seemed that it was purportedly a very important holiday, and the Arrancar, in all his excitedness, had decided to throw her a small party. Nemesis had somehow managed to get her a cake, and a few balloons and such, his eyes having a glint of wonder. It almost seemed like he had the mind of a child once more, running around and setting up this party for her.

She blinked back to reality as Nemesis kissed her, and grinned. He handed her a small envelope, and backed off a few feet. She blinks, and looks at him curiously. "What...is this?" He smiles. "Your present~ after all, everyone deserves a present on their birthday, right? At least, that's how I recall it. It's been a while." He chuckles. She looks down, weighing the item in question in her palm, before opening it. She reached in, and pulled out a single paper, with the letters IOU on it, and a small red conical sea shell. She cocks her head, and looks up at him. He chuckles, still holding up his confident nature. "Yeah...sorry, I owe you one gift." She cocks her head. "Why couldn't you find one...?" The grin falters for but a moment. "It's...a long story." She shrugs. "I don't mind hearing." he sighs, and nods. "Alright...here's how it went."

"So, ever since I learned about your birthday, I've been trying to think of a good gift to get you, you know? And I gotta say it's very fucking difficult." He chuckles. "At first, I thought about giving you me for a present. After all, who doesn't like a guy like me for a gift~? But then I'm like 'No, she already can have me whenever she wants and that seems cheap. So I scrapped that idea...well, as a birthday gift." He grins lewdly. If she felt emotions, she might have chuckled right then. "Anyway! So usually, you would think flowers or perfume or some shit would be what you would get a lady, right? I severely fucking doubt you would have use for any of that, so I needed some motherfucking help.

"So, I got to the Human World, slipped through using a Garganta. I kept my reiatsu as low as possible, so as not to attract attention from the bitch-faces up in the Sereitei. I may enjoy fighting and slaughtering, especially those shitwads, but right then I was more concerned with getting you a gift. So, I headed into town, looking around more than usual. It was...strange. Usually I'm hearing the sound of bone and sinew being hacked apart, screams, and my own laughter, but not doing any of that...was unnerving. I don't like it." He shudders, and shakes his head, continuing. "Anyway, I was walking along, looking around, when I got hit in the face by this fucking ball. This little shit kid came up to me, and grabbed the ball, and walked away without even fucking apologizing! He hit me in my fucking face! And he just had the gall to walk the hell away like a bitch who want's to have his  liver ripped out?!" He seethed, clearly getting worked up. He took a breath, and calmed down. "In hindsight, I would realize that he probably couldn't see me, but that is besides the point. I jumped the kid, slashed his throat and ripped his vocal cords out, before tossing his body into the forest."

"So, now that I was done with the little cocksucker, I kept walking, thinking hard about what to get you. I stopped at a flower cart, rethinking over what you may or may not want. After all, a lot of girls do appreciate flowers, and even if they don't really feel they may like them. But, I could only find those common flowers, like roses and some shit. And while I thought you would appreciate the red of the roses, I didn't feel like that shit was for you. And that's when some shithead found the body. The police...yeah, I think that's what they call them...came blazing in their stupid vehicles around the corner, heading towards where I tossed the kid's carcass. And figuring that this would just make things more difficult for me, I decided to get the hell out of there. I Sonidoed off into town, determined to find someone."

"As I made it into the market district, it's what you would expect: A fucking dump. Pieces of shit don't even clean up after their fucking asses." He grumbles. "I swear if I step onto one more fucking wad of gum that was chewed in some fucked-up retards mouth, I will personally hold a public execution of the entire population of Karakura. But I digress." He waves it off with his hand, but Akane could tell he was still pissed. A lot of things got Nemesis riled up, she had noted early on. "So, I went to one of my favorite drinking holes. It's a place where I go to when I want to get drunk as fuck and possibly get beat up in a bar fight and/or blackout and lose the entire memory of the evening. The bartender can see me, one of the few people I leave alive, since I take care of shitty customers and the cops and gangs that come snooping around his place for him, and I get free drinks for life~" He chuckles, another wave of nostalgia overtaking his features. "Those were some good times, they were." A small, dead smile crossed Akane's lips. Such an interesting, albeit a bit foolish and childish, man. 

"So, I asked the man what the fuck to get you, and at first he only offered shit about flowers and stuffed animals and stuff. I waved that off, saying I had already thought about that shit, you know?" He sighs. "Fucking amateurs, the lot of them. Then, he suggested something I didn't think about: jewelry. And that was single-handedly one of the greatest ideas I had heard all day. Though truthfully, by the time I left that bar, I was lightly inebriated. And by 'lightly inebriated', I mean 'heavily drunk'. So, I stumbled my way around town, in a drunken stupor. I don't remember much of that time actually, but I figure it went alright .... somewhat." he frowns, scratching his chin. "Although I did wake up with some weird shit written all over my face and chest..." He shrugs. "Well, doesn't matter, I doubt I will remember. So, in my drunken stupor, I ended up at the jewelry store down there, and by then I was beginning to sober just slightly enough to begin having coherent thought. I managed to crawl/stumble into the shop, which I'm pretty sure the owner wasn't happy about in my head right then. I asked him if he had any shit that had like...a water or ocean theme. I think my exact words were along the lines were 'du...y-yuu haff...anyffhing with an oshean...or water...theem?' I can't fucking remember well, I was drunk as fuck. Although, I did not have enough common sense to realize that he couldn't see me, like a normal fucking human."

"So! I began to grow drunk angry, and began to try and talk to the man more and more, my voice and anger rising as he continued to ignore me, or at least that's what I thought. And, with my anger rising, and my reasoning gone, you know where this was going." He pauses, and the bursts out laughing. "Oh who am I fucking kidding?! I'm Nemesis, we ALL knew this was gonna happen from the fucking start~!" He cackles, holding his sides in glee. Akane chuckles quietly along to his laugh. Still such a strange man. "And so I grabbed the man's head, smashed it into the glass and chopped it off. It was actually quite nice, would not have minded hanging it up on my wall. But, I am saving those spaces for Reaver's and Hime's heads. It'll be my greatest triumph." He chuckles, grinning wickedly at the sickening thoughts.

"I grabbed the keys from the old man, moved around the store, and began to sift through the masses of necklaces and rings and such for something you may like. But, lo and behold, it seemed like nothing was there, until I spotted this wonderful necklace. It had an old, ancient look to it, with sapphires embedded in it, and carvings of sharks and dolphins and such within the metal that made up the majority of the fucker. I knew that was a perfect gift for you, so I smashed the case, took it and ran out the door."

"Unfortunately, not only did that set off an alarm, bringing the police to the store, but the Shinigami fuckers actually managed to have detected my presence with their bullshit equpiment, and had sent a squad to deal with me. I walked out, and I was met with seven blades pointed at my face. Mind you I was still pretty damn intoxicated, and I may have walked out of their with your gift intact, had it not for me getting into a very heated conversation with the leader about how hard I banged his mother the other night." He sighs, shaking his head. "I really should probably stop opening my mouth all the fucking time in hindsight, gets me into a shitload of trouble."

"Anyway, that set them off, and they rushed me, swinging their blades at me and trying to kill me. Some released shikai, and a few used to Kido. I thought I was doing pretty well against them all, fending off their blades with my axes and sending cuts into their bodies, but one managed to blindside me...right on the side where your gift was. They shattered it, broken beyond any type of repair. So, I got pissed. Ripped one's heart out, crushed anothers skull, ripped out one's vocal cords, I just went apeshit all over their pathetic corpses. After I managed to calm the fuck down, I realized what I had lost, and got really angry at myself." He frowns. "I couldn't think of anything to replace it, it had been the only one in the store."

"I kept beating myself up, so I tried to change my train of thought. And that's when I thought about the beach." His entire face brightened at this. "If there was anything, ANYTHING that you might like, it would be there. And so, I hauled ass to the closest beach and began looking around for something you might like. And up until sunset I combed that beach, thinking there was nothing there, until I spotted that shell." He indicates to the one in Akane's hands. "I felt it represented you. It's your favorite color, it has a sharp point, and it's cold. But, inside that shell, past all it's coldness, is life and warmth. But, enough of that cheesy shit. Happy birthday Akane!" Nemesis grins proudly.

Akane just looks at him funny, cocking her head. She wasn't sure whether she would laugh or smile or punch him in the face if she had retained her emotions. "So...what was the story's point exactly?" Nemesis blinks, his grin turning sheepish. "Er...basically...it's a long-winded way of telling you I owe you one gift of your choice in the future." Akane blinks, looking at him funny still. "......Seriously?"