Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach.

Eva's After Dark

ACT One: Scene 1:

When the Stage has Been Sold


"What do you mean there is nothing you can do?" The little woman before him was seething, her small stature doing nothing to negate her intimidation factor. Her deep blue almost violet eyes were unsettling on her good days, and now in her anger simply made him shudder.

"Now now, Ms. Rukia," Kisuke Urahara, the owner of Eva's After Dark, put his hands up in defense, his voice taking on an almost boyish quality as he tried to keep her fury at bay, "You know I only rent this place. I don't own the property. And I certainly have no sway over Mr. Shinji's decisions concerning this land."

Rukia's eyes narrowed further as she folded her arms over her chest, "Hmph. That sounds like an excuse to me."

"An excuse?" He frowned, lowering his characteristic striped hat further to shade his eyes, "I'm not sure what you mean." The ticking of the clock over his desk became very distinct. The thing was broken- it had been broken forever, but it still managed to struggle to life at inopportune times every once and awhile as though it were cursed.

Grabbing the front of his shirt in her fist without warning, the young woman shouted, "An excuse for not doing your job and fighting for your club, you idiot!"

Cowering, his hands over his head in surrender he cried, "Don't be cruel, Ms. Rukia! Of course I fought with Mr. Shinji about his decision! He simply wouldn't listen! He's been offered a lot of money by a very wealthy investor!"

Strangely she seemed to accept this excuse rather easily, she herself knowing the unpredictable whims that held sway over the building's true owner- or now used-to-be owner. Rukia sighed, releasing the panicked man. With a sorrowful shake of her head she said, "Evy will be most upset." Kisuke's shoulders slumped at this, uncurling from his protective stance.

"Indeed." He said, his voice grown solemn and pitying. "I am sorry."

"Mm." She acknowledged, turning her back on him. With another heavy sigh she headed toward the door. The clock ticked to life again in the short silence. "Just… stall as long as you can." She paused, her hand on the doorknob. It was going to take true grit to face her friend with this news and the task of reporting it was unwelcomed.

"Of course," He replied, looking up for just a moment before dropping his gaze again, his hat obscuring any expression on his face. "I'll do what I can."

"Be sure that you do." There was a slight threat to her voice as she opened the door, but the majority of her fighting spirit had fizzled away with the realization that this man would have done anything he could to keep his club's doors open if not for his own sake for the sake of the others whose hearts were so deeply invested in the place.

As the door to his office closed behind her with a telling slam, he shook his head with a sigh folding his arms over his chest. "I think the only ones who can change the fate of our little hole in the wall now are those two." He said and the black cat washing its paws on his desk looked up and meowed its agreement as the clock made one last decisive tick.


"Oh for the love of hell, no! No!" The young woman shook her head. Rukia watched as her client paced the floor of her bedroom, shaking her head in incredulity. "We can't let this happen. There's no way. None. I won't let it happen." The woman shot her a meaningful glance, her pace not slowing. This reaction had been expected but still it was hard to sit still and act as the voice of reason.

Rukia spread her hands, "I know this is- unexpected. But there are other clubs- more than willing to have you. Begging to have you really. And for top dollar." She tried to reason, but she herself knew such an effort was wasted. Her client was perhaps even more stubborn than her and that was saying a lot. Conceding defeat was not something Rukia did easily, but she was this woman's business partner after all; from a business perspective she had to consider all the favorable opportunities that might be afforded to her client. Still knowing Evy on a personal level she knew that there would be no easy solution, such as simply following the money. While Evy valued her monetary independence she did not strive to make it her motivation for doing what she did. She made ends meet and had enough to spare to indulge her addictions at local thrift stores; that was good enough.

The hurt in Evy's eyes as she paused in her pacing made her manager flinch, "Eva's is the only club, Rukia. It's the only place I'm at home…" Rukia looked down, crossing her feet at the ankles, her arms already crossed as she sat rigidly on Evy's bed. Damnit. My reasoning skills will be out the window any minute.

"I know." She said softly. Evy was looking far away her gaze unfocused, lost in some thought or memory. Rukia got to her feet placing her hand gently on her friend's arm, "I know what it means to you. But this may truly be out of our hands." She bit the inside of her lip as her friend focused on her with tearful brown eyes, the strange ring of green that circled the pupils glowing.

"Am I really meant to lose another piece, Rukia? It's my legacy." Evy looked down at her, willing her to understand. The cameo on its ribbon of velvet at her throat seemed to gleam as a reminder of what she spoke of. Quickly, however, the young woman put her sorrow aside and clenched her jaw, her eyes growing hard as she looked above her friend's head decisively, "I won't let them have it. I am a dying breed after all… It's not gonna happen, Rukia. I'm not gonna let this come to a question of money or power!" Rukia winced at the determination she heard in Evy's voice and watched as the young woman rushed across the room to grab her black jacket from the circa 1900s lamppost that had been made into a coat hanger. Heading toward the door she shoved her arms into the jacket one at a time with barely a pause.

"Hey- where are you going!" Rukia felt her heart drop into her stomach as she started, realizing her friend was flying out the door.

"To see Kisuke and find out the name of the bastard who thinks he can have my club!" Evy spoke in a velvety growl, her voice echoing in the hall, her bedroom door banging hard against the wall in her wake.

"Damnit!" Rukia grabbed her jacket off the bed and hurried after her client. While she knew her friend's impulsiveness always did more harm than good she couldn't help but to smile as she ran out after her. Honestly, she too was ready and willing for a fight.


The two women breezed out as carelessly and somewhat recklessly as they had breezed in. Kisuke sighed as he righted the table his favorite starlet had knocked over on her way in. Breeze was probably not the most adequate word to describe the way Evy and her manager had charged through the door that afternoon. Evy who was really rather even tempered compared to Rukia, was usually very gracious when upset, but she did have a wild streak when it came to what she deemed as "hers". She was only so very protective of three things in her life, her friends, her music, and her club. The club was a piece of her past, the last bit of inheritance she had from her family who had really intended to leave her nothing.

As it turned out, Kisuke himself legally owned the rights to the basement club, its name anyway. The building, the upper story abandoned and in disrepair, was actually owned by a local man, independently wealthy who had a soft spot for lost causes. By all rights the building was a historic landmark having been built in the early 1900s by the businessman's great great grandfather. Once the upper portions of the building had been offices as the modernization of Japan had begun, sheltered between other buildings in a budding district. Now it was the only building in a vacant lot that stood on the edge of town. The basement had not been occupied until the 1920s when a young man decided to open a pub to rival those of the lively American clubs (speakeasies) of the era. The tavern had quickly grown in reputation for its boisterous parties and its ability to draw some of the most prominent artists and singers into its shadowy depths. There was no place like Eva's, which seemed to draw in the artistic community with ease, likely due to the fact that the proprietor's wife was somewhat of a legend of the stage. The first of her name, Evangeline, "Eva" Ebano had been Evy's great grandmother; the club had been in the family for generations after, until her father had decided to sell it to the strange man, who had bought him out at great expense. Just as he abandoned his family's legacy with ease, Evy's father had done much the same to her, the rebellious little disappointment who favored her music over any of his or her mother's plans for her future.

Kisuke smiled fondly as he thought back to the first time he'd met Ms. Evangeline Ebano the third of her name. It had been years ago, she'd been child. It had only been about five years ago that he had really gotten to know her when she had appeared before him again with her plucky little manager. Rukia Kyoraku had had the same scarily determined look in her eyes as her counterpart. He sighed. Perhaps it had not been wise to give them the name of the man who was in the process of sweeping the rug out from under all of them. Well at any rate they knew who it was and now there was really no stopping them. Poor bastard.

"Byakuya. Byakuya… Byakuya Kuchiki." Evy's eyes flashed as she chanted the name. "Can you feel me coming?"


AN : Onward we go. I'm honestly hoping that I'll have chapters out rather quick, but I can't make any promises because I'm a busy mama! But I'm gonna try my best to make this an inspired fiction. Still I want lots of familiar Bleach characters to make an appearance so you never know where this is going to go. Bear w/ me please! R&R please! If anyone notices spelling errors when it comes to names, please let me know!