Lift The Limit[Igen, Rio]

Rio could hardly contain her laughter at the delivery of Igen's disastrous attempt at humor. Well, Rio supposed it was better than anything she could manage. She avoided any opportunity to make a joke unless she was truly certain it would land properly. Igen just leaped off the bridge without a second thought. It was amusing, though. Any form of banter was welcome in her eyes. He placed his order in for a skewer and Rio decided to place her own in for a meat bowl with season rice added in to even things out.

Once their food arrived, Rio would grab her bowl and take a seat beside Igendai, resuming their conversation. Now that she got to think about it, Rio hadn't particularly used her zanpakuto in some time. She certainly trained to keep herself in peak condition, but rarely had there been a situation that required anything beyond her sealed abilities. It would be nice to use it again. There was no resistance on her end towards the idea. Grabbing a generous amount with her chopsticks, she would take a bite, turning amber eyes towards Igen. She wondered what his reaction would be to her Shikai considering he had only ever witnessed one.

"No harm at all. If nothing else, it can't hurt to try right? I'm interested to see what your reaction will be once you see my Shikai. I haven't used it in a minute, but I'm confident enough to think I can give you enough of a fight, and hopefully draw something out of your zanpakuto. Maybe the spirit hiding in there might get competitive and hop in to assist you. I'm curious, though. What was it like witnessing that one shikai you mentioned? How was it?"

Rio was curious about that particular piece of information. Zanpakuto abilities were effectively boundless. Conceptual or elemental, there were countless possibilities that could manifest. Curiosity compelled her to wonder about what it was like dealing with the first one he saw. Plus, it was another way of continuing their conversation while she consumed her arguably heftier meal.

Rio continued to consume her meal, listening to Igen sate her curiosity concerning his first experience. It was certainly true that most zanpakuto were representative of the user once a connection was established. To her knowledge, there was yet to be a case where that was not the norm. Of course, Rio was no expert. What was common knowledge in the past didn't necessarily mean things couldn't change over time. With no particular intel on the person Igen mentioned, Rio could only come up with a guesstimate. Dark was a vague descriptor. Was it a shadow ability? Was it demonic in nature? So many thoughts could be made from that one word.

From the way he was describing it, the ability of the weapon was a far cry from how the user carried themselves. It was enough to send Igen's mind into a state of contemplation, wondering how his own spirit and abilities might manifest. Was it doubt? Was it fear he might not be fond of what came about once he reached that threshold? Rio could only surmise. Come to think of it did Rio's zanpakuto truly represent her as a shield? Her sealed abilities had an iron-like aspect to them. Her shikai was more blade oriented... Truly something to contemplate. Maybe she'd let Igen be the judge of things once they got to that point.

"Huh... a curious case, to be sure. The way it sounds, their zanpakuto must be a far cry from who they are as a person, as far as you've known them at least. Perhaps it could be something linked to their past? I can't say. Far as my own zanpakuto is concerned, there isn't really anything I find to be out of the norm. Nothing warped, dark, or... out of place from who I am. It kind of has an iron theme to it. The base revolves around density and iron. I think those things represent me well."

Rio stifled a chuckle at the irony of Igen's statement. She momentarily imagined what his reaction might have been had he met her in the past, where she was anything but relaxed. Her title wasn't merely one earned out of simple training. A lot of her family members were no strangers to the extents she was willing to go to protect them. It didn't help that a lot of that was also fueled by irritation towards her sister.

It was humorous, but Rio wasn't going to point that out. If he was familiar with the relaxed version of Rio, that suited the Shihoin woman just fine in the grand scheme. She supposed that enough time spent around him or Nanashi would gradually destroy any attempt at returning to those days of noble stoicism.

She playfully tilted her head, a pretending shrug as if she hardly understood herself. A teasing gesture, but she remained serious enough. He required her assistance, it seemed, and so any form of play could simply be left up until later. Addressing what bothered him was what mattered currently.

"It started out with meditation, yes. However, I was somewhat brash when I was younger. I didn't have a lot of patience for waiting. Naturally, that impatience led me to train with a madman's zeal. There were days where I struggled with tapping into it, and simply chose to improve on another skill just to pass the time - my hakuda, for example." Rio paused, chewing on some of the meat in her bowl as she recalled her zanpakuto discovery experience.

"When meditation didn't work, I defaulted into throwing myself into spars, skirmishes, or small missions to draw something out. In retrospect, perhaps it wasn't the best approach but eventually a lot of those risky tactics led to a breakthrough. I don't know what the approach is, but my advice is to continue going at your own flow. Don't force it. Ideally, don't worry about what'll happen once you meet your zanpakuto spirit and develop abilities. I don't know that person you were speaking about personally, but no one's experience is the same. If they had something dark, it doesn't mean you'll end up with something similar. "

Rio listened to Igen, smiling softly as he seemed to recognize the meaning behind her words. They had only known each other for a short period of time, but Rio certainly didn't wish to see him in a rut. Worrying didn't seem to be his style. For this friendship to thrive, one of them had to be the voice of inspiration! Besides, if the roles were reversed, she felt he would've parroted the same words she was speaking now. She tilted her head in curiosity as Igen mentioned the person who had seemed to set him into this mood to begin with.

He kept her name hidden, which made her curious, but she held no intent of prying into his business with the woman anyway. As she thought, it truly must of have been a tense situation. She still wondered about this woman's Zanpakuto. The general scope of abilities one could be granted when they tapped into the essence of their weapon varied from person to person. She curiously wondered about how her life might have went if she tapped into something like that. A weapon she fear showing anyone. Food for thought. Anyway...

"Of course, Igen. We're friends, right? If the roles were reversed, I'm pretty sure you'd be telling me the same thing. I... think you're really cool and fun to be around. Why wouldn't I think your future spirit wouldn't feel the same? I can't even imagine dark and terrifying in your spirit, let alone your weapon. Still... whoever she was, it must have been frightening enough to make you think about it."

A soft chuckle fell from her lips as a light blush tinted her caramel-colored cheeks at Igen's next comment. She guessed it was her turn to feel a little awkward herself now, huh? She appreciated his words, but one part of her couldn't help but reflect on her time in the academy. Popular? Her? Well, she had friends. She just didn't engage them as much as she would've have liked, looking back on it. Maintaining clan etiquette and the noble image was all that seemed to dominate her days in the past.

Maybe she was popular, maybe plenty of people were fond of her, but she hadn't paid it much attention, honestly. Nanashi and Igen, and anyone else she planned to meet might well make up for all that lost time. Maybe she could reunite with some of those peers, engage in the drinking she missed out on. Could be fun...

"Well, I have played the role of a big sister in my family for a time, so you're not wrong there. Uhm... hm... regarding my time at the academy, I don't think I would've called myself popular. I had friends but, well, I always defaulted to worrying about my duty to my family than hanging out. Thinking on it, sitting beside you like this, sometimes I wonder if that was the right decision... but..."

She turned to him with a grin and gave him a playful elbow in return.

"With people like you around, I don't think that'll ever have to be a regret to linger on at all, will it?"

When Igen seized Rio by the shoulders, the shihoin woman was rendered speechless for a single moment. She registered the advice, but her eyes blinked as if she could barely understand a word. The suddenness of the act had surprised her. Igen seemed the type to usually laugh something off and pat her on the shoulder. Serious Igen was... interesting, but nevertheless welcomed. To be honest, Rio was occasionally surprised by her own gradual change. Carefree Rio was never something the stoic shield of the Shihoin would have dared to imagine in the past. Chuckling softly as the exuberant male removed his hands from her shoulders, she reached forward to nudge his fist against his chest a bit.

At the very least, she was glad she had helped just a little in easing his spirits about his zanpakuto. Turning her eyes towards him, she tilted her head a little at his question. She really couldn't speak for other noble families. They likely had principles and edicts they followed that required them constantly going out and maintaining an image for the public eye, but Rio could not recall a time where her family set out specific duties.

Moreover, even if they did, the Shihoin estate may as well have been a ghost town. Chidori was wherever the wind blew, Kokoro was married, Yugiri spent her days on earth... there was nothing to do nor anyone to watch over. Her schedule really was as free as she claimed it to be, but that didn't mean she couldn't fill it up with stuff to do.


"I had a job... but that was more self-imposed than anything. Typical sister watching over her siblings and close relatives to make sure they were safe and staying out of danger. Most of them are adults now. Free to make their own choices. I support them and visit them when I can but... I'd like to make my own path now. Have my own fun. I'll just fill the days with stuff to do. Who knows, I might even join you in the Gotei," she remarked with a chuckle.

She had... been entertaining the idea for a minute. She was a remarkable warrior in her own right. Thus, she felt it a mutual benefit for both parties if she pursued it. Of course, she wouldn't rush into it. She'd let things take their natural course. It was far better to live that way...

To live free.