Long Time No See [Saiko/Henrex]

Well, all is fair in love and war. Everything was like a blur for everyone else around then, but Saiko perceived the intent of Henrex well enough and relaxed her nerve as she felt the cold steel of his blade nearing her throat. Without flinching, she'd stand there as the rain began to fall once again once the auras of their energy lowered and the shockwaves' impacts faded. Now, she'd respond to him with a smirk across her lips.

"Perhaps another day we can do that. However, I don't think this is a good place to do that unless we both want to become enemies of the Gotei."

She'd joke in a playful tone as she wasn't serious about it. Still, it was nice to call it here.

After a brief moment of silence, the woman blinked as something else crossed her mind. Then, after putting away her blade into a mist of aqua fire, the woman looked at Henrex for a moment before asking a question.

"Hey, this may seem random, but do you know a demon Arianda? I met her in the human world, and I might have something to talk to you about if you do."

Lowering his sword and chuckling softly, Henrex began descending to the ground. Maybe one day, he would be able to fight without restraint. Presently, though, it certainly was not a good idea, becoming enemies of the Gotei aside. The risk of damaging not just the architecture of the Seireitei, but also the risk of injuring their allies. Slipping his Zanpakuto behind him, the weapon disappeared, the half-breed having dismissed it to his Inner World. But, he turned to face her as she asked him if he knew Arianda.

A warm smile spread across his face at the mention of the name, and he nodded.

"I do. She's one of my closest friends these days."

A wistful look passed over his face as he stopped for a moment, taking in a deep breath before continuing. As he spoke, though, he began walking back to the office. After all, staying in the rain wasn't really preferable. He opened the door, stepping aside to let Saiko go in, before entering himself and taking his haori and cloak back, setting them on the set of the desk.

"In fact, she saved my life, all those years ago, when I first awakened to my demon blood. Were it not for her, I likely wouldn't be here right now. Of that, I'm eternally grateful."

How ironic, that a member of Shadow Fall would be the one who ended up saving his life, teaching him to control the curse that had surged through him since birth.

"What about her? Did...something happen?"

Saiko blinked for a moment and was relieved that the stories that Arianda had spoken of matched Henrex's words. So, with a gentle smile, Saiko nodded and decided it would be best to talk about her encounter with the woman.

"That's a relief to know she wasn't lying to me about your connection to her."

Tapping her chin for a moment, Saiko tried to figure out how to carefully speak the next bit of words before proceeding.

"Nothing happened to Arianda. I had an encounter with her when I was in the world of the living and had dispatched some hollows who were attracted to her. We had a confrontation, and to make a long story short, she seems to have dissolved all ties to Shadow Fall and has been working on trying not to be a threat to us in the Gotei. I'm keeping tabs on her closely because of this."

Looking at Henrex with a more careful expression, she continued.

"I bound her soul to that promise to do better for the world, and she surprisingly took it. After that, we started to become friends, and at that time, she expressed her desire to see you again. So I told her I'd do what I could to make that happen."

Brief glimpses of that conversation came into the woman's mind as she engaged with Henrex in this conversation. She knew, for her sake, she needed to keep this going so she'd pop the question.

"We all need a support group of some kind, so why don't we have a day where we visit her and all hang out as friends?"

He breathed a quiet sigh of relief as she reassured him that nothing happened to Ari. Merely that the two had come across one another during a dispatch. He was more than aware of her dissolution with Shadow Fall, her having left the organization long ago. It was part of why he trusted her so dearly, willing enough to stake his own life and soul to her. So, with nothing more than warm smile and a nod of his head, he spoke.

"I can attest to her actions. She has wanted to do better for the world, but, was trying to escape the shadows of her past. I know that she is trustworthy. If she wasn't, I wouldn't be here today. She had limitless chances to end me in the time I've known her, and she never took that chance once."

His expression turned dark for a moment, his head lowering.

"Like me, she was...misguided. I don't think she really knew how to move forward until recently."

But, the dark clouds over his eyes lifted at the notion of her wanting to see him again, and his expression once again turned friendly, warm, and loving. It was a sentiment that he shared, but unfortunately, had little chance to act.

"I would love that. I've been meaning to stay in contact with her, but, with the sudden reinstatement of my former position, trying to catch up with what I haven't been aware of, and being unsure of my ability to interact with her currently, I didn't want to take chances. I...I couldn't live with myself if I ever put her in danger because of my own selfishness."

That was why he had kept his lips sealed about her, all those years ago. He never wanted to put anyone he loved in danger by his own hand. But, as he fell silent, a hand slowly coiled around the center of his chest. In the years of controlling the turbulent curse of devilry, he had long since become self-aware of his own feelings, telling the different between various emotions that he thought he had felt before. So, as the hand lowered to his side, his voice grew softer, more bashful as he spoke.

"Oh, um, another thing. If you're okay with it, perhaps...could we have a day between just the two of us in the future?"

It was far from the usual elegant, poetic grace that he had with his words. His cheeks flushed a light red as he asked, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. A spike of anxiety seared through his heart. but, he felt that, if nothing else, he should pose the question. If any could read into his heart, it was no secret that he held a particular fondness toward his fellow half-breed.

Ah, since when had he grown so bold?

"If you trust her that much, I will also. I trust your judgment."

Saiko nodded as she understood that Henrex had a deep sense of trust for Arianda. She was a demon that had gone down the wrong path, similar to both herself and Henrex. So, it was understandable that he would have some sense of regret, worry, and responsibility when it came to the fate of the Vael. The darkness that overcame his eyes when speaking of these subjects caused Saiko to put a gentle hand on his shoulder and speak.

"If she is important to you, I will keep her safe. I will keep this between us and protect you both. You have my word on that."

After letting go of his shoulder, Saiko gave a soft smile as she basked in the moment of calm as the rain began to ease. Looking upward at the grey clouds, she'd enjoy the cool air before being snapped back to reality at Henrex's question. As her eyes blinked, Saiko gave a soft laugh before finding the right words to say to him.

"I'm not surprised you'd want to spend time with a cute girl alone."

As a snort escaped her, Saiko continued.

"But yes, we can have a day where we hang out. You would have to figure out something for us as I'm not sure what we would do."

To hear that someone else trusted her as deeply as he did was music to his ears. Even if she had been former Shadow Fall, he believed that people could change, and he saw firsthand that Arianda wanted to change, even if it had taken her quite a bit to finally start making strides toward that change. He cared for her enough to keep her safe in silence, and even now, when just about all knew of their connection, he would still protect her.

As she placed a hand on her shoulder and conjoined in his efforts to keep her safe, the shadows began to clear from his eyes, and the gentle, warm smile from before returned. He felt a little worried as she laughed, before breathing a quiet sigh of relief. The rain was beginning to cease, and the skies slowly shifted from a dark, stormy black to a gentle and mild melancholic gray.

"I actually already had something in mind. There's a festival coming up, from Tokyo to Hokkaido, Momijigari. It's a small tradition where you can visit and watch the changing of seasons through the isles, appreciate the deepening of fall, and the shifting colors of the trees. To admire the warmth of autumn before the bitter chill of winter. Is...that acceptable?"

The warm smile returned, the poetic grace and elegance in his words slowly coming back as he regained his composure.

"Usually the best times to see it are during the beginning of October, but, there's still plenty of time."

That was a welcome sight to see the darkness within the eyes of Henrex begin to dissipate under the comfort of another. So, with a smile on her face, Saiko nodded as she stood there and listened to his invitation to accompany him on a festival trip of some kind to Japan. She wasn't familiar with that specific activity but was open to exploring and seeing what it may lead to.

"I'd love to go. The cold doesn't bother me."

With a small blue flame igniting in her eyes for a brief moment, the woman had some of her aqua-drenched energy flare up around them as it made the temperatures around the two hybrids increase for a short time before fading away.

"If it gets too cold, I can always warm things up."

Snorting, she'd then look up at the heavens above and ponder something for a moment.

"So, shall we call it a day? Or is there something else you want to say or do? It seems like it's getting late."

The spike of anxiety slowly began to ebb at her accepting the date, earning a shaky chuckle from the half-breed. His features remained gentle and warm, faltering only slightly at noticing the temperature difference. He hardly was bothered by the cold, but, that ability was rather cozy. Being able to create a loophole around the conventions of nature certainly had its benefits.

"Let's. I hadn't realized how late it was getting."

He took a look to the sky, seeing the muffled gleam of the sun beginning to creep down the horizon. Quietly resting his hand on the doorknob to his office, he turned back to face Saiko.

"I'm looking forward to our little outing. Take care, and have a good rest of your night, miss Mori."

Those ruby eyes shimmered with warmth and excitement as he smiled, turned around, and opened the office door. There were still some things to sort out before retiring for the day.