Everything is Brand New[Igen, Rio]

Rio grinned the moment Igen mentioned Moe's name. Come to think of it, she hadn't told him about that particular meeting. It was a random encounter. They bumped into one another, Rio underestimated how strong her physical frame truly was, Moe was injured for a bit, and she ended up treating the diminutive soul reaper to a meal. To cap it all off, they ended up sparring together. After that, the rest was history. Well, not entirely. She'd made a little bet to treat her to a month's worth of food on her bill.


She didn't particularly mind it. She found the pink-haired woman to be quite amusing. She hadn't gotten grouchy or huffy from their first meeting, but perhaps she'd reacted differently because she was a Shihoin? Perhaps. At the moment, Rio listened to Igen and his explanation behind the new outfit. Truth be told, it'd made a lot of sense. The last time they'd fought, his outfit did end up torn by the end of their battle. It was sort of one of the ways she had definitely confirmed that he was a man. His musculature and lack of any discernable bust were dead giveaways. She wasn't particularly surprised to hear that people thought he was a woman as a result of wearing it. A few other things caught her ears during his explanation. Mainly, what happened in Africa. She wasn't aware of the entire phenomenon going down there, but she knew the bare minimum at least.

"I think it's a nice look. At the very least, it's comfortable. Oh, and you'll actually be surprised to know that I've already met Moe. She wasn't grouchy with me, though. We sort of bumped into one another at random. She took the worst of the bump though. I felt a little guilty as a result and treated her to a meal. After she healed up, we had a little spar. I can't wait to start training with her."

Slicing and cutting through a nice portion of steak, Rio would bring the seasoned meat towards her mouth as she pointed her fork towards Igen, another curiosity rooting it's way into her head.

"Speaking of Africa... how was it? How did your mission go? I only know the base information, but if I end up being sent there on a mission, it'd be nice to know what I'm getting into at least."

"Is that so? I can't say I'm all that surprised. You two definitely share a similar tenacity for combat. Much like you, she wanted me to come at her with everything I got, and I likewise challenged her to do the same. I can't wait to see how we mesh now that we share a division," she commented, biting into the remaining remnants of the steak that occupied her plate. During that time, she listened to the answer Igen had provided regarding his experience in Africa.

Naturally, she was happy he survived the ordeal and lived to see another day. With a mission of that magnitude, she could only imagine how much danger he might have faced. Rio was certainly confident she could handle herself, but for as resilient as Igen was, he was still developing. Perhaps, Rio mused, she was overthinking things; allowing those sisterly remnants of worry to trickle in unfettered. Igen was plenty capable in her eyes. There was nothing to worry about. Following a firm nod, Rio chuckled softly, flexing her arm.

"Yep, and I'll be plenty prepared. Those hollows won't know what hit em' once I arrive," she humored, swinging her fist forward in a mock attack towards the air. "Anyway... I'm glad you made it back in one piece. I can only imagine how daunting it must have been to see so many hollows at once."

"It'd certainly be nice to fight alongside you. We've sparred together, but we haven't fought as teammates. I'd certainly like to see how well we could play off of one another."

Rio resisted the urge to say it would be an honor, a way of distinguishing herself from that noble image around a peer she viewed in a fond light. She was genuinely interested in the prospecting of fighting alongside him if the opportunity ever presented itself. Considering the way he spoke on the current subject, perhaps the likelihood was higher than she imagined. After finishing the meal, Rio leaned in the chair as she observed the young man with a curious gaze, listening to him speak about celebrating her joining a new division. She still fondly remembered that day they both got intoxicated, and how she ended up passing out on her own courtyard in front of the Shihoin estate.

After getting past the obvious embarrassment she felt at her servants and relatives seeing her in such a compromising state, Rio looked back on the memory quite fondly. As dramatic as the notion may have seemed, it served as a catalyst for pulling her away from that listless way of life she had been a slave to, maintaining noble etiquette and an image that no longer held as much meaning now as it did back then. She never expressed how much that meant to her, how much Igen meant to her, but perhaps he understood.

Rio didn't fancy herself bold enough to pour her heart out like that. The brief reflection concluded, Rio grinned toward Igen. A spar was a great way to celebrate. The shield of the shihoin was eager to see how much he had improved, and if Ko's altered appearance was anything to go by, she predicted a fine battle in the present time.

"Of course. I'd love to spar with you. I'd like to see how much you've improved since the last time we fought. You kept challenging me to go all out, and I kept holding back out of worry... but not this time. I'm going to go at it with everything I've got."

Everything was perhaps a stretch, of course, as her bankai was ill-suited for a spar, but she could certainly throw her hakuda repetoire and shikai at him, pushing him to a limit he hadn't experienced before. She knew he'd demand something more out of her anyway. This declaration was simply her getting ahead of the curve.

Ko's words cut right through their conversation. Rio was prepared to head outside with Igen, but her interjecting caused her to pause as she remained in her chair. Ah, that's right. Ko was still here. It still took Rio a moment to acknowledge the woman was no longer a tiger, but a vocal zanpakuto spirit with the form of a woman with tiger ears. It was going to take some time getting used to that. She did make a good point. If they were going all out, a courtyard truly wouldn't do them any good. The likelihood of leaving the courtyard in ruin was high. And food was a necessary component. There was no use in fighting on an empty stomach. For the sake of ensuring their battle would be an ideal fight, Rio nodded assent in response to the desire to consume a meal.

"No, I didn't eat anything before I got here. If you wish, we can certainly enjoy a meal before I pummel you into the ground," she spoke with an air of competitive confidence in her voice.

Family, huh? Rio paused for a moment at that question. In truth, she didn't have an immediate answer. Most of the family she was particularly fond of had moved on while her sister was busy with raising children and overlooking duties as head of the Shihoin. As Igen prepared the meal, Rio leaned against the chair, stroking her chin until an answer finally arrived. Yugiri hadn't really seen this version of her, Kokoro was busy with Kuchiki affairs, and Chidori was... eh, whatever she was. She had long since learned not expect much from her, and she probably wouldn't have any strong feelings about the new change anyways, assumedly at least.

"I'd like to say I hope they adjusted pretty well. I still interact and speak with them, but I've been somewhat vocal about my desires in life, and they respect it. Actually, most of my servants actually joked about me needing to move on anyway since everyone else did."

Chuckling softly, Rio crossed her legs as she decided to shift a question in Igen's direction. She was curious to know how life had been on Igen's end. She knew why he had that new outfit, and even the Africa stuff, but how had his day-to-day been since then?

"So, question for you. I know how things have been when you went to earth, but how has division life been? More than that... it's been on my mind since I got here, but what's the deal with Ko? She was a tiger the last time I saw her, and now she looks like... that."