The Gentle Giant [Tsurugi, Murasaki]

Tsurugi Toru

Heavy footsteps marked the path during the mid-morning, the tall figure they belonged to quiet and orderly as he made his way to a particular destination - his Captain's tent. Arms entwined behind his back, shoulders squared, and his gaze forward, he generally had the appearance of a rather stiff individual, though it didn't do much for his scary appearance.

He had been struggling to find his place ever since he joined the Gotei. Majority of his attempts to form connections were either uncomfortable or inorganic - not much unlike his previous attempts in his old home with other children. Mother always told him not to mind them, but this was different - this wasn't the outer skirts of the Rukongai, where you had to be cautious of where you lurked and who you trusted. He was in an entirely different environment, with comrades and structure.

And here he was, struggling to adapt. It was a pretty irksome sensation for him - he was accustomed to being at least somewhat impressive with his growth, but it was like he firmly hit a brick wall.

His eyes lowered to his Zanpakuto. Not a whisper out of it. It was almost as if even his sword thought he didn't belong. He had decided to stop being quiet about it and pay his Captain a visit, hopefully to have some advice and knowledge from a far more skilled and experienced Shinigami. After all, you'd have to be a considerably remarkable member to become a Captain, yes?

With that, the man's tall shadow stood outside the entrance to his Captain's tent - a rather interesting choice of office placement, and took in a deep breath,

"Captain Murasaki? Are you available?"

Despite his figure, his voice was deep sure, but also rather hushed, almost like a soft breeze as he spoke to the tent. Just barging in was highly inappropriate, especially with someone he had never formally met before. He wanted to maintain some professionalism and politeness, after all.

Tsurugi Toru

A soft nod was made by the young man as he heard a voice calling for him to enter, coming inside slowly and carefully, as he would then stand up straight, having not moved too far from the door as his eyes would be directed towards the floor, not looking directly at his Captain as he would speak,

"Good morning, apologizes if I disturbed you."

His figure remained rather strong and squared as he addressed her, his voice remaining the same deep, wispy level of tone it had when he initially called for her. He didn't appear nervous or scared, rather his appearance was more, somewhat unsettling to the common folk, his posture hardly changing, his face unreadable - ill-presenting of the spectrum of emotion going on underneath, as he would go on,

"If you have time today, I have a request... I have been having trouble communicating with my Zanpakuto. I was afraid this would become a hindrance to my ability to operate within the division, and all attempts made on my own have resulted in no resolution."

Don't show weakness, don't show fear - such a statement was a veiling of the truth of his actual thoughts and feelings towards it. She had no need to know much beyond the simple fact he was concerned it could impact his duties,

"I am here to ask for your assistance and advice on solving the matter.. If possible, is all."

Tsurugi Toru

A hint of surprise crossed the man's face with the woman's rather light tone. It wasn't a reaction he expected, nor was he used to; people in this environment didn't react to things in the way he expected all the time, and he just hadn't fully gotten used to it. He covered how jarring it felt under a steady face, suppressing any additional feelings of disconnect as the interaction went on,

"..The problem is that, there is nothing."

His hand fell on the sword strapped to his hip unconsciously, sensations of inadequacy surfacing as he went on,

"..It will not speak to me. I have not had even much as a glimpse. I have not heard my comrades having similar levels of difficulty, not for very long at least.."

It feels like it wants me to go away, like I do not deserve to be it's master.

He dared not utter that last part aloud.

"..Is it possible that I am doing something wrong? Could I be going about it the wrong way? What am I not getting, that the others have?"

Tsurugi Toru

The young man stood stone solid as Murasaki went on about her thoughts, his gaze just below meeting her's as he did so. What was she thinking? What could be wrong? Could it really be because it thought he didn't belong here? That he wasn't worth it?

Murasaki's words didn't instill much confidence in him as she stated the possibilities as to why it's been radio silent for a good while. Upset it? Could he really have done something to do so? Why hadn't it expressed it's distaste in his actions or decisions, then? At the very least it could've done that, instead of being dead silent...

At least this was normal, and possible to fix... He hoped. It's one thing to say that as someone not going through it, but another as someone who's facing the concern.

He blinked twice as she had reached her hand out, as if for him to give her something, and asked if she could speak to it,

"..You can.. Do that?"

A glimmer of interest met his dark eyes, as he would nod, gently unsheathing his sword and presenting it to her hilt first.

...I hope you can...

Tsurugi Toru

"Secret technique, huh..."

He mumbled softly as he watched her take the sword and put it on her lap, dropping the cheery look and seriously focusing on communicating with the weapon. He'd stand there for a few moments, before coming down to sit some distance away in a similar position, mostly to watch her as she did her work. He was a little curious as to how it even worked, he never heard of such a technique during his time in the academy.

----

The woman's call would go unanswered for a good few seconds, silence holding long enough to think she wouldn't get a response at all - that perhaps this spirit was particularly stubborn, but after that period, suddenly a voice would sigh, breaking that gap of silence:

... That would be 'miss', firstly.

A voice spoke, sounding much like a young woman, possessing a rather quiet, yet stern voice. A bit of a chill could be felt in the way she spoke, before her voice would break the silence once more,

...What could you possibly want? I am not in the best mood for idle chatter.

Though the voice didn't sound irritated, her tone was rather.. Unsettling and intense, easy to cause pinpricks of instinctive fear on the skin of any ill prepared.