The Taste of Victory [Hono/Kyo]

While Kyo had graduated from Shin'o Academy, and strictly speaking that meant he was done with educational matters, he was the sort that believed in bettering oneself in every action. That naturally extended even further to keeping an ear out for those Shinigami who were looking to toughen up a bit, man up as it were. Was it actually officially in his duties? No, not in any capacity, and he knew that. But it wasn't as if he was doing all this for the sake of some ideal of teaching. He'd heard about one of the brighter rising stars in Sixth Division, and that meant he was going to make his way right over there now that his shift for the day was finished.

"Yo! I'm looking for Hono Kaen. She around?"

It wasn't especially uncommon for Kyo to simply be present in the other divisions, if only because his presence and his boisterous personality made it incredibly easy for him to get people's attention. Generally, people just thought of him as something of a nuisance and left him alone.

"Ha! You haven't done anything. Well, not to get yourself in trouble, at any rate. I'm Kyo Sawachika, of the Fifth Division. You've made quite a reputation for yourself around these parts, you know. I've heard you're the sort striving to improve."

Kyo always looked into those shinigami who seemed willing to strive for excellence, whether or not it was the same sort of excellence that he himself cared for. He couldn't say that he had the same sort of outlook on these things that Hono seemed to, but Kyo knew perfectly well that he was a fairly noteworthy outlier when it came to how he lived his life.

"If you're looking to test yourself with some of the best, I know a place that not many keep track of. It's a good place to get some training in."

"I keep my ear to the ground for those energetic sorts. A lot of people in the academy talk pretty highly of you, and I just got out last year, so I still hear a bit of talk now and again."

Of course, he'd also heard plenty more from people in a few other divisions, but Kyo did like to play up his own ability to handle things. That was just the way he operated, after all. Maintaining his confident grin, and seemingly unperturbed by Hono's apparent disinterest if the sigh was any indication, he turned and gestured for her to follow him.

"It's a little out of the way, closer to the walls and definitely not anywhere near the Gotei proper. There's actually a few different spots like it all around the Seireitei, but I figure I'd show you the one I know best."

Kyo was, in the abstract, aware that leading some girl along to parts unknown might have theoretically made him look bad. But it wasn't as if he was pulling her off to the depths of the Rukongai or anything. Even at its worst, the Seireitei was pretty secure.

"Sure do. It's a good place to learn, get some more experience outside the confines of the training rings. Even in the hardest bouts at the academy, everyone's fighting for practice, with teachers watching."

As he continued through the Seireitei, Kyo kept his eyes peeled for any of the faces he might have expected to see around here. He'd heard stories that the Captain Commander herself had come around here in her day, and that she still stopped in once in a blue moon. He'd never seen her, but people didn't tend to lie about that.

"This is nothing like that. Everyone's giving it their all, and you'll find desperation that you'd never see in the training ring."

Stopping after a short while, Kyo gestured toward the building before them. A fairly unremarkable market, plain and not apparently different from any other place one might be able to buy groceries and the like. But unlike most of the buildings of the Seireitei, which saw primarily business from the nobles and only the occasional patronage by shinigami, there seemed to be far more members of the Gotei milling about, both inside and out. He led the way inside, and though it was visually plain, there was immediately a sense that this was not a normal place.

There was, undoubtedly, a tense atmosphere inside. Shinigami studied the shelves, walked around here and there, but all seemed to not only be biding their time, but studying everyone else. Kyo and Hono, as the most recent to enter, now had all eyes on them for the time being, but none made any indication that they were doing anything more than watching for now.

"Important question, by the way. You hungry?"

"This is the Genryujin Market. It's got good food, great little premade lunches. But the most important part of the day is when they go on sale. Every so often, the owner'll make his way out and mark a few of those boxes as half-off. And when that happens, everyone who's come all the way down here is out for blood."

Kyo's grin grew a touch more as he gestured over to one of the displays, an old man quietly inking onto a few of the bento boxes on display. The tension in the shop was quite clearly only growing by the moment, and Kyo himself was shifting his attention between the displays and Hono as he spoke.

"Once the old man leaves, it's a free for all. Some of the best in Shino make their way down here, and even some of us recent graduates like to make our way down here when we've got time. You only get out of here one of two ways. Hungry and beaten, or with your lunch."

As the old man by the display finished up and began to walk away, Kyo's whole body tensed up, waiting for the moment that he was gone entirely. It took a moment, then two, and finally the old man was gone into the back of the store. The very same moment, the whole of the store was suddenly a different place, the young Shino students and recent graduates throwing blows toward their chosen targets. A few even came Kyo and Hono's way, though Kyo quickly fended them off as he swung out with a wide arm bar.

"Well, what're you hungry for? Better be careful someone doesn't take it!"