Home Again [Henrex, Shuten]

Never in a thousand years would he have imagined to be asked to become the Fifth Division Captain again. Yet, here he was, silently walking through the barracks. Not so much as a single footstep could be heard as he approached the Captain's office. The back of his hand gently rapped and tapped, knocking at the door before he opened it and stepped inside.

"Hey, Shuten. It's...been a while."

Given the silence that he heard from outside and within the office, he doubted that she was busy. He closed the door behind him, the latch sliding into place with a sharp click. Three years, and yet it felt like nothing had changed. Well, for him, too much had changed, in too many ways.

In fact, when Henrex entered the office, the chair was unoccupied, and the Haori for the Stealth Division lay folded neatly on the cleanest corner of the desk. Frankly speaking, the entire office had been made quite spick and span, cleaned perfectly just for the new captain. This moment of contemplation in an empty room, lacking that even of any spiritual pressure aside from Henrex's own, there was naught but silence. Hell, even the paperwork that could have been there was all gone. But, there were tell-tale signs that Shuten had been here. Her gourd and Zanpakuto in it's Shikai were leaning up against a corner of the office; near what was essentially the Lieutenant's desk, chair, and couch. On the desk was also her favorite dish, but Shuten was nowhere to be seen. If Henrex had a brief fear of Shuten choosing to leave the Gotei, these items would assuage those fears; as Henrex knew well enough that the Suika would never have left them behind. However, the silence in the room was swiftly broken by the sound of metal whistling through the air.

A fan of 16 Kunai sudden flew out from a particularly dark shadow in the room, one that was always so dark at this time of day; easy to be ignored on accident, in fact. The Kunai all traced a perfect outline of Henrex's head, impacting the wood of the office door behind him; leaving a nearly perfect representation of his silhouette. In that moment between the blades impacting the wood, Shuten had zipped out of the shadows with trained speed, using the distraction to her advantage to get up in Henrex's face and slap him with an ungodly level of strength; even if the Suika was relatively weak in comparison to other beings. Her breathing was slightly labored, but not from exertion, but in a clear effort to restrain her potent anger. Her purple eyes burned with a thousand questions and a fierce anger that spoke levels to how angry Shuten was; especially since she hadn't hugged Henrex immediately and went straight for a slap instead.

"A while is a horrible way to characterize our time apart, Henrex! Not even one letter from you, not a peep the entire time you were gone. I had no idea if you were alive or dead. And then, some months ago, I feel a whisper of your energy in the Soul Society. I put it off as nothing, but I keep feeling it, and when Murasaki comes around to tell me of my rank change, which was extremely kind of her, I find out you have been teaching at Shino'o. But do you even try to talk to me in some form? NO. NOT A PEEP!"

Shuten huffed and puffed in anger after her relatively angry voice that swiftly escalated to shouting as she regaled Henrex with what was clearly an intense situation of missing Henrex so desperately and then feeling extremely scorned when he didn't even bother sending her a letter. She poked a finger into his chest, which may have been less threatening due to her size if not for the fact that Hernex knew Shuten could kill very easily.

"I don't CARE if you were afraid of mortal peril from the Soul Society because of knowing some demon girl who just happened to be ex shadowfall. That doesn't excuse breaking contact with me completely! I'm your friend, Henrex, I'm your gods damned lieutenant! You should have tried everything to let me know you were okay, even if it was just an obscure message only I could understand; even just a sign that you were alive would have been enough! But, instead, you leave me with nothing! I know it's not your fault that you had to leave, but you coulda kept me informed somehow! Dammit Henrex!"

Shuten's eyes were filling with tears now, her fingernail pressing rather hard into Henrex's shirt and chest; likely getting a tiny bit uncomfortable. However, she soon turned away with a loud sniff, rubbing her eyes on the long glove that lay skin tight on her arms and hands. Another loud sniff, a very long swig of sake, a deep, DEEP, breath, and then Shuten turned towards Henrex; her form trembling slightly from her suppressed anger. Her voice was more tame now, but there was still a biting tone to it.

"It is more amazing to see you than I can describe, Henrex... but that doesn't change anything that I just said; nor the anger that has boiled up within. I need explanations Henrex, now. No excuses, no hugs; explanations. You can give me a hug later when I don't feel like stabbing you..."

It was honest and true, and Shuten meant it. She was far too angry to be consoled with excuses and hugs; she needed explanations. Afterwards, she might be open to some hugs... But she would have to really think about not stabbing Henrex a little bit. It was really mean of him to say nothing for just about a year or two just because he was afraid. He was a god damned stealth force captain, not a Kenpachi. Silent messages should be easy.

He had been expecting the office to be quiet, but, he wasn't expecting it to be practically empty. He could see the haori neatly folded on the corner of the desk, as well as how spotless the entire office was. He saw Shuten's Zanpakuto and gourd resting against the wall. The eerie stillness felt that much more oppressive, but, even with Shuten's concealment of her physical form and spiritual signature, he could still sense, practically taste the fury that she had.

He simply remained in place, hearing the whistle of metal flying through the air and the throwing weapons impaling the door behind him. He could hear the sound of her body moving as she slipped from her hiding place and suddenly slap him with enough strength to cause the bones in his jaw to creak, stress, and lightly snap. His jaw quickly repaired itself soon after, but his head had turned as a result of the smack. Well, it wasn't the first time he had been hit by a woman, after all.

Yet, even with that, he bore not a single iota of malice or hatred.

Even when she was so furious with him, he just turned his head to face her, and let her speak. He didn't dare interrupt her as she spoke, only think about what he had done, or, in this case, what he hadn't done. Perhaps he had just been paranoid back then, but he wanted to risk absolutely nothing. So, as Shuten finally finished speaking, Henrex disobeyed one of the first things she wanted.

He just hugged her. She could stab him all she wanted, it wouldn't stop him. In this, all he could say was...

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you or make you worry, I just...couldn't risk it. I didn't want to risk anyone's personal safety or their position just from talking to me. I didn't want anyone in the Gotei getting in trouble. I...I had a situation happen a little while ago, and I couldn't contact anyone. Not you, not Arianda, nobody. Even when I was accepted to teach at Shin'o, I didn't want to risk getting myself or anyone else in trouble."

He sighed, releasing her as he stood back up, only having crouched down a little bit to hug her.

"It's...been a complicated and messy year for me, Shuten. I never wanted to hurt you or anyone else, but, I didn't have much choice. It's a very, very long story."

Shuten had honestly taken very little notice of the fact that she had briefly broken Henrex's jaw, especially because of how loud the slap was over all. And, of course, Shuten didn't give a rat's ass if Henrex still did notice her in some way, saw her, all of it; it was the statement of it all, not the action itself. So much so, that Shuten left the Kunai in the door, choosing to say not a single word more as she crossed her arms tightly. However, Henrex had decided to disobey her desires to not want to be hugged. Frankly speaking, he probably moved his body a bit too much in order to hug her, because it felt a bit awkward to Shuten. Regardless, she whipped out a Kunai with the speed of years of training and shoved it between some of Henrex's lower ribs; showing her expertise by managing to completely miss any organs via not pushing it past his ribcage. Afterwards, she threw the Kunai into a nearby wall, which impaled up to the ring on the end of the handle.

Almost as soon as she had let go of the handle of that particular kunai, she hugged Henrex with enough force to crack a few ribs, forcing her face into the crook of his neck; even if it meant her horns were likely in uncomfortable places. She stayed there as long as he hugged her, and probably a few moments after he wanted the hug to stop. Frankly speaking, Shuten was a little careless at the moment due to her potent rage and sadness; and the tiniest bit of relief to see that Henrex was alive. Eventually, she was able to push herself away from Henrex. She moved rapidly to her Zanpakuto, likely scaring Henrex for a moment that she was going to start attacking him with that too. Instead, she unscrewed the gourd from her Zanpakuto and made Henrex drink it; without saying a word. After he took a few gulps, she recorked the gourd, put it back on her Zanpakuto, slapped him with the other hand just for good measure, but nowhere near as hard, and then calmly listened to what he had said after their hug. She let out a soft sigh and shook her head gently, putting her face in her right hand.

"Henrex... That is the lamest excuse of your career as a captain both before and now. And I think I have heard just about all of them. There is simply no reason to not try at least once. Were you being hunted? No. And all of the people you could have told, which I am sure this Arianda knows quite well about your situation, likely would have been just fine; because there is no proof to our association with this Arianda, only to yours. The only risk would have been for you because of the circumstances; and if anyone even found out. For gods' sake, Henrex, you're a STEALTH FORCE CAPTAIN, not a Kenpachi like a said before. And you were accepted to teach at Shino'o; which meant you were safe enough to TALK to people with letters. Murasaki wouldn't have let you in if she considered you a threat. BUT, I will leave that matter alone because you are here, and alive. And I will slap you again if you leave without telling me anything. Now then..."

Shuten takes a deep breath, turns to her desk to take another long drink of Sake, and then turns around to flick Henrex's nose; giving him a rather searching look before she sat on Henrex's desk, putting a hand on the Haori.

"If it's such a long story, Henrex, we have time now. I refuse to give you this Haori until I hear that story. Out of everything you may owe me for leaving and never even trying to tell me you were okay, even just once, you owe me that explanation out of everything at least. No excuses, no buts, and no more hugs to placate me! The story and the whole story, nothing more will satisfy me. Because, god dammit, I thought you were dead!"

Clearly, Shuten wasn't calming down much each time she tried; especially because this had all been very long pent up due to Henrex's long silence and the job she was left to do alone. However, she still was filled with enough reason to let Henrex have the silence he needed to explain himself; and also respected him enough that she would be good on her word. After all, she asked Murasaki to present Henrex with his Haori for a reason. It would mean a great deal to both of them if she did that; even if Murasaki had to do something more formal and official later. Regardless, Shuten stayed on her perch, her hand not leaving the Haori; waiting for Henrex's regaling of his tale. Long or not, Henrex needed to tell her this.

He didn't react as she dug another weapon into his body, avoiding any dangerous regeneration needed by avoiding his organs.

He figured it would be a terrible excuse to her, but, in the end, it was the truth. Perhaps he was just being too paranoid, and in that suspicion, he ended up making bad calls that hurt people. It was never his intention, but, here he was. So, as Shuten hugged him as if she were trying to crush him, he felt and hear a few ribs creak and crack from the strain, as well as hearing the loud snap of one. Even if Shuten didn't have some kind of specially augmented hearing, with how close she was, there was no doubt she heard it.

At first, his hand went behind as if to draw a weapon himself as she went for her Zanpakuto, if not just as a safety measure, only for her to suddenly unscrew the gourd, walk back over, and shove it in his mouth. Not expecting to suddenly have to drink, he gave out a few muffled protests, inadvertently downing multiple large swallows of alcohol, with the sudden action causing a bit of it to spill onto the floor. As she pulled it away, he coughed and tried to clear his throat from the sudden washing burn that had surged down his throat.

Without given much time to say anything about it, Shuten slapped him again. As she responded to what he said, all he really could do was sigh, rubbing his cheek. His jaw had quickly mended, and any wound that she had made with kunai or horn had healed as well, and while it wasn't really painful, it still stung to have the first thing he was greeted with when returning to the Gotei be a literal slap to the face. Instead of following her to the desk, he simply walked over to a chair to the side, silently pulled it up across the desk, and sat down.

"Where to even begin...well, to try and give the short version, after I was kicked out, I was able to stay in Minatumi Harbor for a time. But, not too long after that, I...was abducted. It's a long and complicated situation, and I'd rather not go into it. After that, I...was also removed from Vastime's forces, though was still able to live there."

His fingernails instinctively shifted to claws as he felt anger bubbling up in him, but, he took a deep breath, relaxed, and his hands shifted back to normal.

"For a while, I just was trying to live a normal life, to put it all behind me. I moved back home, to Japan, Toba to be precise. For months, it was just the same mundane, repetitive loop of life. I...I was afraid I would die alone, nameless, and forgotten. The world didn't seem to have much use for me anymore. I had served my purpose."

He paused, a hand reaching behind him to pull his Zanpakuto seemingly out of thin air, resting the daisho on his lap.

"Then, I thought to apply to Shin'o Academy as a teacher. It gave a sort of breath of fresh air to my life. A new routine, I was doing something I wanted to do, but I was still worried. Something just...felt wrong about the whole situation. I didn't want to risk getting into contact with any Gotei members, on the off-chance that either they, or I, got in trouble for it. But, I kept my ear to the ground, and I've been aware of all the changes made within the Gotei."

Information gathering was his specialty, after all. It was easy for him to go unnoticed and eavesdrop or spy on other teachers. He had never thought that he would accept an offer to return to the Gotei, and yet, there he was. Perhaps what ultimately swayed his heart and decision was her wording. She wanted him back. She knew what he could do, respected, and appreciated it. She believed that people could change. Yet, there was still doubt that plagued his mind. Perhaps they would eventually kick him out again, getting tired of him. Perhaps it was only a matter of time. But, he kept that close to his chest. Right now, it was just baseless suspicions.

"And then, out of the blue, Murasaki comes in, asks me to come back to the Gotei. I thought there was some kind of catch, there wasn't any way that the Gotei would welcome me back, with the position I held before, without some kind of strings attached. But...here I am."

At this point, Shuten was starting to feel a little guilty with the rough treatment of Henrex. He had gone through a lot, a lot more than she honestly understood. This meant that, during the middle, and end, of his explanation as to why he had to be so damned careful, which she still would characterize as overly paranoid BS, her purple eyes were somewhat misty with tears that had yet to fall from them. However, she had angled her head in a way while listening so that Henrex couldn't see her eyes as he talked; shaded by her purple hair. Regardless, it didn't stop her from feeling guilty about how she had treated him as soon as he came in; especially given the hardships he had endured in the past year or so he had been gone and had never talked to Shuten.

However, one thing didn't make any sense. How in the HELL did someone like him get kidnapped? As Shuten was thinking, she realized it must've been by a woman. And given he didn't mention this demon Arianda again, it was clearly someone else who had kidnapped him for some other reason. But, again, it was obviously a woman. After all, there was no one else but women who could likely easily bend Henrex to their will. Shuten didn't like thinking about it, but she was always worried Henrex would be a very whipped husband; whenever he married at least.

Eventually, once Henrex had finished speaking, Shuten had quietly slipped of the captain's desk; still hiding her eyes as he walked over to him. It was a tense collection of moments filled only with the damning silence and the gentle pad of Shuten's near-bare feet on the floor. Without another word, Shuten grabbed the collar of his shirt and looked into his eyes, revealing for the first time just how misty her eyes were; and the tears that were trying to spill over. But, she didn't let him speak, she didn't let him do anything. She mumbled the quietest 'I'm sorry' of her life, and then proceeded to climb into Henrex's lap and hug him tight once again, weeping silently into his shoulder.

"I-I-I... I m-missed you, so much... Don't leave like th-that again, D-Dammit!"

Henrex likely would be honestly amazed at how silent her lamentations were, even if the convulsions of her body made them very obvious. It wasn't like Shuten was trying to be quiet on purpose... she just never really cried loudly. Perhaps it was a defense mechanism to protect herself so no one would hear her crying. Regardless, she let it all out in the most primal release of emotion that even grown men can't help but suppress. She cried and cried, refusing to speak a single word the entire time; her added weight to the chair likely threatening to damage it with enough time. Then again, Henrex was so damn light, it probably was only like one person was sitting on it. Regardless, Shuten cried her eyes out in a silent display of joy, sorrow, and regret. Joy at Henrex's return, sorrow from how she had felt in the past year or so of his absence, and regret for how she had treated him. She would have to make it up to him with dinner later... she did become a rather accomplished cook recently, after all. And besides, Henrex had probably eaten more of Shuten's home cooked meals than anything else due to his honest lack of capability to take care of himself while working.

... At the very least, Shuten could look forward to getting her Kanabo back out. Then again, she may save that for later and use her hands for now. She just had to make sure not to hit Henrex's head too hard. Even if he had bird bones, his skull sometimes seemed as if it was thicker than a rock.

He didn't really care if it wasn't a sufficient explanation for her. It was the truth, and nothing but. Shuten knew more than anyone that he would never lie to people close to him. But, as she teared up, climbing into his lab and holding him in a vice-like hug, the half-breed's expression softened. He could sense the turbulent emotions that swirled in his Lieutenant.

As she cried and held onto him, he didn't say a word. He only returned the affection, holding her so tight that the world itself would have to open and swallow them whole if it wanted to tear them from one another.

Perhaps it was affection unbefitting of a Captain and his Lieutenant, but, he was a man that felt emotions on a scale unknown to Shuten, to most other Shinigami. A man who loved too much, too strongly, even for friends. A hand softly reached to her head, gently running his fingers through her hair and patting her head. He just wanted to stay in this moment. His voice, as always, was soft, gentle, and dulcet as he finally broke his silence.

"It's okay...it's okay. I won't. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you..."

He just wanted to comfort her, as penance for the pain he caused her, due to his own selfish, irrational paranoia. Even now, it seemed like there was still things that could change about him.

The haori hardly mattered right now, it could wait.

Characterizing how Shuten felt in the past year, give or take 2, was impossible to put into words. So, Shuten fit her lamentations to satisfy her need to get out her thoughts and feelings. On one end, she was overjoyed to see Henrex alive, but of course there was still that lingering anger at him for never talking to her after leaving. Caution was one thing, but being so overtly cautious was plain stupid. It likely took Shuten the better part of half an hour before she finally relaxed enough to finally stop crying, and then another half an hour before she finally relinquished Henrex from her tight grip. She slid off her lap, patting him on the head gently before she went over to her gourd, pulled out the strong sake, uncorked it, and downed quite a great deal of the alcohol. Obviously, it had no affect on Shuten, but she definitely did seem to relax after taking such a large drink of sake.

Seeming much more calm, Shuten gave Henrex a long, searching look before she finally gave him a tentative smile. It was so gentle, and spoke to the much more graceful and charming sides of the Suika; rather than the one Henrex was greeted with.

"It's good to have you back, Henrex... It really really is. Just... don't leave again, okay? I'll have to track you down and bring you back by force~"

Shuten couldn't help but let a tiny giggle escape her at the thought of being the second person to kidnap Henrex; possibly at least. However, it was a very briefly entertained thought as she turned her head to look at the Haori on the Captain's desk. Her gaze was long, but not longing, almost as if... regretful. Possibly of being unable to properly fulfil her post, no matter how Shuten felt herself deserving. However, the Suika soon turned her gaze towards Henrex, smiling oh so carefully.

"Do you... Do you know anyone who can make a good Haori? I kinda got used to wearing one, ya know... and uh, Henny... Are you ready to be a captain again?"

Shuten used a surprising use of his little known nickname, something only a certain demon known as Arianda Vael used excessively. However, it signified one thing, that she was ready for him to be in her life again. Not as a lover, but as a close friend, and as one of the best stealth force captains. Well, aside from the whole overworking thing.

Shuten briefly entertained the idea of kidnapping him next, to which the half-breed just chuckled softly, patting her on the head. His eyes followed hers as she turned to look at the haori on the desk. An item that he never thought he would wear again, now sat in front of him. A hand slowly rose and rubbed her back, intended to at least comfort her somewhat with the stinging loss, a loss that he knew all too well.

"I actually do. One of my students is a tailor from the Rukongai. Wonderful young lady. From what I've heard around the academy, she made a haori for one of her friends as a birthday gift, and it looks absolutely beautiful. I'll let her know, I'm sure she'll be ecstatic to make one for you."

He smiled warmly at the thought of the young tailor, Hiroe, and how she put her all into everything that she was learning. The girl was going to become a good Shinigami, and an even finer tailor. But, now came time to answer her question. In all honesty, he was worried. Having been absent for three years, he was concerned that he wouldn't be fit to lead. But, he would do his best.

"As ready as one can be. I hope to be the best I can. If you want to stay in the division, as Lieutenant or no, or if you wish to resign, I'll support you in any of your ventures."

“I would like that, Henrex. I got quite used to wearing a Haori. But I think blue to compliment this white may work better. Or perhaps a nice purple~ I’ll figure that out later. I’d like to meet this student of yours then, Henrex.”

As Shuten stood there, her back tingling from Henrex rubbing it in comfort. It felt a little odd, but she let Henrex perform the action. She knew his intentions were good. After all, Henrex was always quite sincere. Eventually, the Suika looked towards Henrex after he had said that he was ready. She gave him a small smile, and nodded a tiny bit.

“Come now, you think I’d leave so easily? I can’t say I’m fond of the idea of being a lieutenant again… but who else is going to keep you straight?”

A small grin graced the Suika’s lips, and then she once more turned around and looked towards the Haori. She took steps to the Haori, pulled the garment off the desk, gave it a gentle shake to unfold it completely, and then she turned around.

“Arms out to your sides, Henrex.”

Another gentle smile, and then, after Henrex had put up his arms, she started to put the Haori on Henrex’s arms; being very careful so that she would not damage the fabric. Eventually, Shuten had pulled the Haori onto Henrex’s arms and then onto his shoulders; aligning it gently. She patted the front of the garment and she gently flicked Henrex’s nose.

“Welcome back, Captain. It’s good to have you back. We’re lucky it still fits so well, huh~?”