She Is As Living Fire [Kasha, Kimitsuki]

Another day, another thing to do but when those chores were over he was free to do his own thing. It was nice that Shishiyuki gave him permission to express his talent more, though it did raise some eyes at the generally okay student suddenly being able to be put in the top handful of the class. He made sure not to be on top, that was far to obvious and attention drawing to suddenly become top of the class over a week or two.

So after selecting the casual kimono and doing some make-up to keep up with his idea of aesthetic, Kasha opted to go to his favourite teahouse which naturally on a busy day got quite full and with such limited room the young man gazed over the room to try and think about which seat seemed the best option to try and approach. Not the group which had space but were clearly in their own little circle. Getting involved may be easy but he didn't want to take the time to become mixed in, nor did he want to put up with whatever they were talking about.

Then there was the guy by himself. An easy pass and then there was the most promising option. The woman that made him a little surprised by her choice in aesthetic; it was both fiery and wild but subtle, tempered rather than running amok. She looked as living fire but didn't cut off beyond the destructive nature of it as the only thing to capture.

"Excuse me, Miss. May I sit with you?"

She definitely was the best option here.

Teahouses... Definitely not something unfamiliar for Kimitsuki, but she wouldn't say it was the thing she was most familiar with. Tea wasn't exactly her forte. She understood it, and actually quite enjoyed it; but going out for tea? It was something odd. However, the Danava was out of tea leaves of her own, and had yet to find new ones at the present moment, so the best option was to go to the teahouse that was recommended to her. She was quite perplexed, really, by what was offered; but she was humbled all the same by the overall satisfying flavor of the tea. Such reasons were why Kimitsuki was sitting, quite alone, and enjoying relative silence while slowly drinking her tea; occasionally using a very gentle flame to get it back up to heat.

However, her quiet table, at which she was at all alone, was soon broken by the sound of a voice. Her fiery eyes snapped to the speaker, her silence quite literally shattered by the voice that asked for permission to sit. She was, in all truth, taken by surprise. Most people would normally not bother Kimitsuki, at least not any who did not know her. Those who knew her? Of course they would. They knew Kimi was a very kind woman. However, this boy, were they a boy?, didn't seem to mind much at all. She simply blinked her red eyes at the boy for a few second before her voice finally broke free from its surprise.

"Oh... sure. If you want to."

It was a very impartial answer, but it was the best Kimitsuki could come up with at such sudden notice. Being lost in thought as she was, it was the best reaction she could have to a social situation. Battle? That was different. On duty and needs to handle a situation? Easy. Socializing with a complete stranger that wasn't associated with her in some way? Difficult. However, Kimitsuki still managed a small, well meaning, smile as Kasha sat down in the seat he wished for. Kimitsuki was still perplexed, but it was still best to ask why he sat with her.

"Tell me... why sit with me of all people?"

A genuine, curious, question. They didn't know each other, and this man, girl?, probably had their own group to be with; but perhaps, they did not. Regardless, Kimitsuki simply posed her question and was silently ready to leave if this person proved a problem, or annoyance, in some way. But, there was still some optimism in the end. Not everyone was bad, really; but it's never bad to be cautious.

"Thank you very much."

A little bit chirpy in the response, was it a little weird? He didn't really know or think to much. Usually he wasn't enthusiastic about engaging with people. They annoyed him but this lady seemed very different like she resonated with everything that was the core of his life up until this point. Well, in a less weird way that wasn't as creepy as it sounded.

"Why you? Hmm. I suppose it's because you appear different to everyone else here. I don't really know how to explain, you just seem like a blaze in this dull room."

What exactly did that mean? Kasha looked up abruptly to ponder that, surely there was some other meaning given the Koizumi behaviour of mixing meanings and subtle manipulations on wordplay but Kasha didn't care too much for it. A bad habit he was raised with - if anything.

"Oh. I'm Kasha by the way, Koizumi Kasha."

This man’s, he was a man right? Kimitsuki still was not honestly sure thanks to how feminine their face looked, reason for wanting to sit next to Kimi was essentially because she stuck out like a sore thumb; albeit, he did put it in a much more eloquent way though. However, the way he put it. ‘A blaze in a dull room’. Kimitsuki couldn’t help but chuckle at Kasha’s reason. For the Danava of Fire to seem like a blaze in a dull room was quite the accurate statement. She gave him a gentle smile.

“I suppose that makes sense… Can’t be that many fiery red heads around town after all.”

She smiled a tiny bit still, and then once more turned her attention towards her drink. However, she still pondered the why of it all. While his worded reason was amusing, words were not more than that; words. There was always more to an interaction than just what is said with words. What is he wanting out of this? Picking Kimitsuki seems more obvious due to her quite foreign nature; knowing very little people in the seireitei, and soul society overall, in general. Frankly speaking, taking advantage of a guard, and personal friend, of Abalia herself wasn’t an excellent idea… then again, her role there probably wasn’t to well known; and that felt okay for now.

“Nice to meet you, Kasha. I’m Kimitsuki Yamamoto; it’s a pleasure~”

"Well, I think it's more than your red hair. I can recall three individuals with red hair off the top of my head."

It wasn't really a brag, he didn't think it was that impressive and if she asked him what their names were he could only answer for one. Kyo, the others were the red head that the Captain of the Seventh Division was dating and that woman that killed the former Fourth Division Captain. Kasha did remain standing though given that she hadn't indicated that he could sit with her.

"Yamamoto? Like Genryusai?"

How ironic that someone who looked like she embodied fire had the name of the wielder of the strongest fire-type zanpakuto. He almost questioned if it was coincidence or she opted to pay homage to the deceased captain commander and yet she was not a shinigami. This woman really was an enigma and full of surprises. It made him beam just a little bit in delight, not helping Kimitsuki's struggles at figuring out the great mystery of what was between Kasha's legs.

It was no honest surprise there were more than a few red heads in the Seireitei. Kimitsuki was simply trying to make a small, lighthearted joke. She smiled, and give him a small nod of understanding that her red hair did not help her stick out quite as well. However, Kimitsuki had to blink a tiny bit at Kasha's relatively sudden outburst about her last name; and especially when she realized she hadn't even invited him to take a seat.

"Please Kasha, sit."

She gave him a warm smile before pondering his question. Genryusai... She was sure she heard heard mention of a man who shared such a similar name from Kagutsuchi, and likely a few others during her lifetime; hell, she was definitely alive when Genryusai himself was still the Head Captain. Perhaps Kagutsuchi knew of his name and sought such inspiration when name Kimi; after all, Kagutsuchi was the one who gave Kimi her name. Also, in the meantime, she decided it was best to avoid her worried about which gender Kasha was. In truth, it would matter very little during their conversation and Kimi figured what was between Kasha's legs could remain a mystery unsolved. In the meantime, Kimitsuki strove to answer Kasha's question.

"I... I do not think I am related to Genryusai. The chances of this are, well, extremely unlikely. Especially since I've never had parents, I've only had one constant companion my entire life; he named me. Perhaps he was inspired by the name of such a famous man, especially given his prowess and ability with fire. After all, it is a fitting name for me; for what I am."

She gave Kasha a small smile, and returned to her tea. Now, she was the one who gave Kasha a small mystery. If he knew anything, especially about Danava, he may be able to hazard a guess at Kimitsuki. The woman happened to have, not only the name of Genryusai himself, but also had the looks to match the whole 'embodiment of fire' thing. Regardless, Kimitsuki waited to see what his response would be.

There it was, he graciously took a seat opposite her while keeping his attention on the most interesting thing in the room - her, naturally. Well, he expected as much for her to not be related to the first Captain Commander though it brought enough curiousity for him to at least comment on the peculiarity.

"Hmm. I see, well I suppose that's something we share in common. My teacher is also my only constant companion who raised me and gave me my name."

It was for entirely different reasons which were so opposite of Kimitsuki's own but he thought it might be funny to compare those two similarties despite the two of them being so utterly different.

The Danava smiled gently at Kasha’s comment about how he too was raised by a person who was also teacher, and technically parent, in one. She hummed gently as she thought of something.

“I suppose you might be able to call Kagutsuchi my constant companion… he’s been with me since I was born.”

Almost as if on queue, a fiery, miniature, dragon basically appeared out of nowhere; gently curled around Kimi’s neck. His Ruby red eyes peered at Kasha, before his voice slowly jumped from Kagutsuchi’s throat; a very low tone for such a small creature.

“Good evening, young child of man named Kasha. Tis a pleasure. I do quite hope you will get along with Kimi, for her age she has horrible people skills.”

Kimitsuki shooed the dragon away, who slowly seemed to just… dissipate into particles of flame; a low chuckle in his wake.

“Well… that’s Kagutsuchi. He’s the one who I was talking about. Who raised me and named me and all that. I hope he didn't surprise you too bad... I swear he scared the crap out of some lady yesterday...”

Thanks to Kagutsuchi’s surprise entrance, he at least made it so the conversation went on slightly longer. However, as if to prove the ancient dragon’s point, Kimitsuki had just about no idea where to take this conversation next.

"Oh? Like a zanpakuto?"

He inquired on cue for the dragon to manifest, he had to admit that the similarities were quite peculiar but it seemed appropriate to assume that this 'Kagutsuchi' was most certainly not a zanpakuto. It must be convenient though, having the support of an individual that remained with you constantly. He hadn't achieved much connection with his zanpakuto - and he hadn't dedicated a lot of effort admittedly either- so he could only speculate.

Though it was quite amusing as to how he responded and Kasha did grin a little bit. A laugh supressed to avoid seeming disrepectful, it was the last thing he wanted to do to a woman as fiery as herself.

"Aha, don't fret. The appearance of a dragon hardly bothers me as much as my teacher's way of appearing at times I don't care for. May I ask what brings you to the Soul Society? That is if I am correct to assume that's the correct assessment of your situation?""

Kagutsuchi certainly was not like a Zanpakuto; and there was no need to really prove why. Such things were mostly thanks to Kagutsuchi proving it just by appearing. Something about him felt inherently different; not in a good or bad way, just different. Kimitsuki, meanwhile, may strike Kasha in a slightly different light. Just what might she be? Maybe it was no concern to him. However, Kasha soon grinned before he finally spoke again.

It was of some relief to Kimi to know that Kagutsuchi’s spontaneous appearance was of no real worry to him. However, he soon asked about what had brought Kimitsuki to the Soul Society. This was a relatively difficult question to answer. She didn’t want to flaunt her position, she had absolutely no reason to. However, saying she was here as one of Abalia’s personal guard… that wasn’t so bad. After all, it is the truth.

“Well, I was brought here to serve as one of the Head Captain’s personal guard. So, I certainly believe your assessment was quite correct. It’s a position I am glad to have.”