Beyond Belief [Ira, Yugiri]

"Hardly. I figured you'd be here a while longer."

He'd already kept up with what was happening over at the arena, after all, and he'd heard that scary teacher of Yugiri's had started taking up some matches over there too. That was probably gonna be a nightmare for whoever got caught up with her, but then again, the people going to see a fight would probably get a kick out of it.

"Not much, really. Definitely haven't been makin' much trouble or anything like that. All the usual training, practicing, eating my vegetables. Been feeling a little cramped, hard to explain."

Flexing his fingers idly, Ira couldn't help but note that he still didn't quite feel entirely right. It was like he didn't fit in this body, like it wasn't his. Well, he knew that was true. But it hadn't always been like that, even when he'd been smaller.

"Like you don't fit in your body? Yeah, it's kinda like when I'm a cat. I get used to it if I do it for a while but I haven't been in that form for a while so I was feeling a little tight and cramped in the little shape."

She mused, it probably wasn't a perfect comparison to compare Ira's situation to her cat form but it was the best approximation that she had to empathise. Still, she went over to the bed and sat down in her bath towel. Legs crossed casually and stretching, it was more comfortable being in her proper form, at least that was her thoughts. That was probably just a placebo though, convincing herself that that form was too tiny for her own tastes.

"Is it painful or just irritating?"

"Yeah, like that. Feels like I'm about to pop right out of my skin sometimes. Wouldn't exactly say it's painful or anything like that, but it's uncomfortable, especially when I'm trying to push myself, know what I mean?"

Ira could have sat down, but standing up was probably good for him at the moment, especially given he'd already been laying around more less all day to try and get over the sore muscles. Continuing to study his fingers for a moment, his attention eventually shifted to the window, watching the ocean almost wistfully.

"Wonder if I'm pushing myself a little too hard for this body or something."

"Well, you're growing up pretty fast. I can't really say I've seen many people age as quick as you have Ira. Normally it's the other way around, a soul's aging slows right down after a while, like me right now. Haven't aged a day since I hit my thirties."

It had been a while since she'd finished growing hadn't it? A little bit longer than some souls but she had the excuse of a degenerative disease as a kid. She couldn't really imagine just how that'd have affected her outside of her legs, maybe she'd have been another foot higher if she didn't have it!

No point getting caught up on stuff like that though, huh?

"You... grew up fast though."

She said, a little remiss to have seen Ira grow up so fast from being a cute little kid. Even if she was a weird little girl it was nice having that kind of responsibility not that she'd ever act like it was the case! She'd be awful with kids of her own, she was certain of that.

It was hard not to smile in a sentimental way after Yugiri said that, and he looked over at her as he thought about what she'd said. It was true, he'd definitely grown a lot in the past few years.

"Sometimes I forget you're older'n me, but I guess you're not so old for a shinigami. Me, I'm an old man that's got a second shot at all this. I guess it isn't too surprising that this body'd be a little stressed growing so fast. Especially since it never got out much before all this."

He'd long since accepted that the body he had was his, and that it wasn't anything more than that. But it wasn't as if the sickness his granddaughter had dealt with left things in too great of shape. He was probably running himself through one hell of a ringer trying to get strong so quick.

"I figure my body's probably trying to play catch up to me, if I had to guess."

"Well, I dunno. If you feel cramped then let's solve that problem."

Yugiri shot back and stretched, shouldn't be too hard to do. Realistically if she stood like this, thought a little bit about it and how hollows did it. Effect was the same but cause was different and she didn't really have the necessary tools on her so she'd makeshift this a bit.

Mūkishiki — Datsushien.

Name pending, she just made the name up after all but the technique seemed solid in her mind. With a senka one could puncture the soul sleep and soul chain but Datsushien would grab Ira's chain of fate to yank her out of her body in one motion like a kite that caught too much wind to get pulled off course as she pushed the soul out and held the chain of fate in her other hand.

"Feel better?"

She asked before she'd turn around, Yugiri knew many things and one of the best pieces of wisdom. She looked way cooler from the back after doing a move.

Ira would have asked if it were quite that easy, if he'd had the time to do so. But before he actually even knew it, he'd found himself yanked rather suddenly out of his body, and suddenly he was looking down at it in a way that made him probably more uncomfortable than it would have made most people. Reminded him of before it was his, after all. Looking down at his own hands for a second, he couldn't quite help but stretch, looking to Yugiri and speaking in a voice that almost surprised even himself.

"Yeah, I'd say so."

It certainly wasn't the voice of a young woman that he'd become so used to hearing from himself. No, that was definitely the gruff, rugged voice of a man who had spent decades on the ocean.

"Didn't know you could do all that, ya know. Might've asked sooner."

"H-Huh?"

She turned around, Ira sounded funny and sure she had read the paperwork once upon a time but she was a really simple person. What she saw was what it was. She was looking at a big old guy with a chain of fate connecting him to Ira's body and moreso out of surprise and also embarrassment at being only dressed in a towel as well she reactively tried to cover more of herself up.

"Uhm, uh... yeah. It's still a work.. in.. progress. It's easier with a... uh... thingie."

Yugiri was certainly put off and it wasn't entirely because she was half-naked in front of an old guy like a hentai panel. It was because her little sister - definitely not daughter at all - was a big broad shouldered man. She could barely remember the name for the plain old shinigami tool which was used for doing it instead.

Stifling a laugh at Yugiri's fairly obvious embarrassment, Ira simply chose to look elsewhere. He couldn't exactly say he had any interest in Yugiri anymore, given what they'd been through, but if it was making her feel awkward he didn't have any issue averting his gaze. He knew that, even a year ago, he probably would have felt the need to really make sure she saw that this was the actual state of his soul, that he wouldn't have tolerated her attempting to act so nonchalant about all this.

But he'd changed a lot. So had she, for that matter. The idea of rubbing it in just seemed unnecessary and mean now.

"Hm... Well, I don't really imagine it's practical to use this for too long anyway. Souls're usually supposed to stay in your body, far as I understand it.

Still, he wasn't going to be hopping right back in at this very second. Going outside wasn't really in consideration, but just standing around for a moment, talking and feeling free of what was a fairly stifling cage...it was nice.

"Uh huh... All it takes is your c-chain to be broke and you're um, dead."

She answered back with a small red tint forming on her dark cheeks, this was really awkward. Should she continue to treat him like a girl? Yes? No? Well, it's not like he'll look like this forever except until he dies? But he's a girl until then. So does she change how she treats him then?

No no, that's weirder than now. Wait, that means that he's a guy dating a guy but he's a girl so it's fine. Except right now? Yugiri did not like all these questions so she did what any sane individual would do.

Palm off the issues for future Yugiri to deal with and she stopped thinking about the whole thing.

"I wonder if this is what happens when shinigami get into the wrong gigai..."

She muttered to herself while staring at his feet.