Tiger King[Igen, Rio]

Rio's recent conversation with Igen had certainly piqued her curiosity the last time they'd crossed paths. It wasn't anything terribly worrying, but the Shield of the Shihioin couldn't shake wondering about where his mind was now, and if her zanpakuto advice had truly been taken in stride. From her perspective, he wasn't the type to get spooked or thrown something like that. Whoever he fought against had made him question if his own weapon might end up being warped.

These musings, although somewhat justified, would do her no good if she ruminated on it too long. Sitting on a tree branch in a forest, Rio decided the best option would be shooting him a simple text. As per usual, there was nothing to occupy her day unless she chose something to fill those idle hours. Whiling away for any amount of time made her feel restless, and tedium could make a day feel incredibly dull in quick succession as a result. She wanted none of that. Rio would lean back against the tree after sending him a message, awaiting both answer and arrival.

[Text]Yo, Igen. Are you busy at the moment? If not, let's hang out. Spar, vibe, whatever.

There was something surreal about texting to the Shihoin. She was use to writing and having her servants deliver her letters for a time, and it wouldn't have been incorrect to consider her an old-fashioned woman as a result, but this was amusing. She held back from being super professional, too. A peer from the her academy days told her that texts like those were sort of a no-go between friends.

[Text]Lol, nah. I'm actually at one of the forests in the Seiretei. I'll give you the coordinates. See you soon!

Rio rose up from her position on the tree, texting her friend the coordinates to her location, although she supposed he could eventually sense her through spiritual signature, too. Placing the phone in her pocket, Rio stretched har arms out and leaped off of the tree. Landing on the ground, Rio would cast her gaze towards the trees. It wouldn't take him a long time to get here now, but she decided to pass the time while she waited by stretching and striking at the air. A fist to the left, followed by a kick to the right. A fist to the right transitioning into a kick with the left. She repeated these patterns, biding her time until the man of the hour arrived.

There he was. Rio turned to Igen as he waved at her, chipper as always. Expecting him to come on his own, Rio's gaze was cast toward the tiger hat had occupied a position beside him. Rio slowly opened her mouth to pose a question, curious as to why he'd brought a tiger along. Had he bought a pet perhaps? Of course, any question that found itself rearing into existence was just as quickly brushed from her mind as Igen introduced her. This tigress, Ko, was his Shikai? Oh...? That meant... He'd made significant progress with his zanpakuto! And it didn't, from what it appeared at the moment, to be something that terrified him.

"T-this is your shikai!?"

Rio rose up and pulled him into a half hug, nudging his shoulder a few times with her fist, proud of his progress. Rio didn't know how to react. Could it speak physically? Or did it only talk to him? What was she like to him so far? What did her abilities look like so far? Did she have abilities? A boundless wave of questions filled her mind, but the Shihoin wasn't going to bombard him with such a wave, and thus decided to take a deep breath.

She leaned forward to stare at Ko before her gaze returned toward Igen. Her expression was a mixture between visible shock, happiness, and confusion. An odd mixture, to be sure, but of all the things she expected... a tiger was not one of them. Chuckling softly, Rio let him go and sat down, a few meters across from both of them.

"I don't know if you can speak, but it's nice to meet you, Ko. Ahem... hm, you look.... really cool?"

Rio was honestly at a loss as to how one would compliment a tiger, but she made the attempt nonetheless before gazing toward Igen, prepared to hit him with a few questions at least.

'


"

Shikai vs Shikai? Rio cast her gaze between Igen and Ko, contemplating the decision. Unexpected as it was, Rio was from opposed to the idea. Truth be told, the Shihoin had been aiming to adopt more training into her schedule. If she was serious about enlisting into the Gotei, let alone humoring the idea, she felt it would go against her sense of pride to approach that path with anything less than her ideal best. She certainly respected that he was aiming to appease her by choosing to hold it off, but honestly, Rio viewed this as a mutual benefit.

To Rio, she would benefit by working off the rust of not using her weapon in a battle for some time, and she no doubt felt Igen could thrive by learning - if he hadn't already, of course - how his shikai worked. There was nothing wrong with the idea at all in her eyes. Rio would glance at her blade, tracing her eyes towards their surroundings. The location was ideal, too. No one was here to disturb them, there was plenty of space for movement, and there was little to impede them outside of the trees. Rio tapped her blade towards the ground, pointing a finger towards Igen, a soft grin adorning her lips.

"While it is true I was relaxing in the trees, I wasn't doing anything of note, either. If Ko wishes to test herself, I'll gladly accept the challenge. I've been meaning to train more, anyway. If I'm serious about enlisting, I don't want to approach it with anything less than my full commitment to the Gotei's cause, and that means giving it my best."

To be certain, Rio was curious about Igen's shikai. If a battle helped sate that curiosity, she'd be foolish to brush away the opportunity.

"Before we start, are there any handicaps you want set out to make it an even playing field? I'm not exactly looking to make this overwhelming, even if I know you're always up for a challenge and overcoming the odds. I want to see your Shikai in action as much as she wishes to see mine."

This was essentially Igen's opportunity to set out anything he felt would be advantageous to him. To be quite honest, Rio didn't technically need to use her Shikai. She was, ideally, skilled enough to go at this with nothing more than her bare hands and a body considered a pinnacle of durability in her family. On the other hand, she had explained the basic idea of her Shikai to him before. If anything, this was to even the playing field. After that, she'd be ready to go.

What followed Igen's inquiry was a complicated expression that danced between perplexed and curious. Shunko? That was an interesting question to pose out of the blue. Wondering what brought it out on, Rio recalled her past, reflecting on the days when she pursued learning the principles behind it, but quickly realized her patience would never allow her to cultivate it properly.

By a certain point, she had already consigned herself to her title as the Shield of the Shihoin, in both combat capability and fighting discipline. In simpler terms, she was a tank and prided herself on acting as a tank would, withstanding multiple blows, remaining upright, and punishing the enemy with a devastating counterattack. Rio only knew of a few people, but unfortunately, she was uncertain whether Igen could reach either of them, without going through some difficult channels, at least.

"I always thought Shunko was an interesting discipline, but I was and still have never been able to grasp it with any real degree of success. It certainly isn't something you'll have to worry about during her battle," she remarked, grinning confidently as she nudged his shoulder one more time, allowing her golden eyes to wander towards Ko, who circle them quietly, gazing toward the two of them.

Noting each movement, Rio was curious to see what abilities this tiger possessed. After all, Rio found it odd that this spirit's spiritual presence felt entirely subtle, slightly indiscernible even. Ignoring its presence might well give her issue if she focused too much on Igen, who, by his own admission, had made his own share of improvement.

"Now that everything is settled, why don't we begin, eh? I'm certainly excited to see your improvement, Igen."

Rio exhaled deeply, creating a small distance between them. Lifting her blade forward, she uttered the phrase, "Harden, Tetsumaru." In that instant, an obsidian hue cast around her blade, splitting into four black blades - equaling her in size - held together by chains. The hilt was now the only thing that remained in her hand. Pointing the hilt towards Igen and Ko, Rio beckoned him to begin his approach. Defend and counter. That would be her approach. It was, after all, always the way she approached any battle. Faint steps guided her feet along the ground, four black blades idling behind her in pursuit.

"The first move is yours."