One Particular Harbor [Ira, Candice]

If Ira had been a little less on edge already, he probably would have whistled at the fact that his faint ribbing had gotten her this riled up. He shrugged it off, pretty used to dealing with people who were just kind of like that, and continued walking. Honestly, he appreciated her dropping the over-cheery thing, it made the conversation feel a little more natural.

"Damn, you were here day one, huh? I can't imagine even tryin' to cut through all this right after it happened. Guess you had someone who got caught up in that Kurosaki bastard showing up, eh? My condolences."

Ira was old enough to still remember hearing stories about the war, and how Ichigo Kurosaki had been a hero that'd suddenly disappeared. Hearing that he was back woulda been one thing, but hurting people? Obviously, Ira didn't think too highly of that.

"Real heroic of ya, that's a good outlook."

Ira, really, wasn't one for heroics or anything like that. He understood doing the right thing and all that, but he didn't exactly see a world where he could just jump right into the fray and start throwing down with villains. He'd promised to live out a good life with this body, after all. Couldn't quite go around wasting it.

"Honestly, seems like that's more normal than I'd have imagined when I was younger. Feels like every time I run into some quincy or shinigami or whatever, they look like they're maybe thirty, but turns out they've looked that way since I was born."

Yugiri immediately came to mind, though it occurred to him that he probably knew other people that he'd simply never bothered to ask. Ah, geez. Ira was already starting to let his head run wild on that one.

"Think it's kinda strange, really. Not that I'm one to talk, and I've got some dear people who're that way, but it always throws me for a little bit of a loop."

"Dunno about common, but unless I heard wrong, that Grandmaster of theirs is a couple hundred years old or somethin' like that. Guess it's not all that surprisin', all that spiritual power ya tend to pull in, I've known a few normal humans that end up gettin' old that way too."

Ira had just come to accept that becoming strong in the world ended up getting you a lot more years on the clock. In a way, maybe that was just one more reason he had to be getting stronger. He had a lot of sights he'd promised to see with these eyes of his, and he wasn't planning on missing out on any of 'em.

"World's a pretty crazy place. I know Quincy kinda go through a whole rigmarole when they get their powers, so I can't imagine they're exactly the same as you n' me."

Ira's eyebrow cocked upward at Candice's appraisal of his situation, and he wasn't entirely sure if she just hadn't actually been listening, or just didn't care to really think about what he'd said. Either way, he couldn't exactly say he cared for that particular appraisal of how he'd ended up in this body, and his eyes moved back toward the road ahead as he spoke with a bit of edge to his tone.

"Dunno. I don't exactly go around stealin' bodies though, couldn't do it again even if I wanted to. But there's plenty of weird people around here, so I don't think my situation's all that strange."

He didn't exactly think she was trying to be malicious here, but that might've actually been worse if it was the case.

"I'd say if that's someone's bar for weird, might be good for 'em to get out a little more."

"Pretty much. Guess that's what happens when ya put a little too much stock in old fishermen's stories, eh?"

Ira shrugged it off, though, not wanting to get too caught up on what had happened. He'd spent a long enough time in this body by now that he'd accepted it was just his now. His eyes mostly moved over the City of Lights as he was talking, almost surprised that somewhere this well-built and well-defended could've even been attacked.

"Not the end of the world, though. If nothin' else, gives me a better head start on figurin' out all these strong folks' secret to stayin' alive for a real long time without getting old. Wouldn't've done me much good as an old man, would it?"