Bloody Tiger [Hyosuke/Igen]

Hyosuke watched Igen coolly, crimson eyes still dour and determined, as he had committed to seeing that look leave the younger Shinigami's eyes before their bout was concluded. Thankfully the reason behind Hyosuke's worry would, in the end, end up beating short-lived but....well.... he had committed to beating it out of Igen, and he was no liar, nor one to allow such a wonderful young man lose himself to that kind of darkness. As the dust settled Hyosuke released his control of the blood above, letting it fall around them, soak the ground, and he already knew what he would do the moment Igen commited to gripping Benicho Kogo. It would be difficult, even with his practice, but as Igen flashed a dazzling grin, luminous pink eyes meeting glinting crimson, Hyosuke now only kept up the veneer of sourness for their bout's conclusion.

As Igen spoke Hyosuke's robe would begin to.... melt? Rather the blood he stored in it's fibers would also flood down to the ground beneath his feet, giving him what he needed to give a low smirk as Igen took the time to telegraph his attack by having his fist erupt into flame. In that moment Hyosuke released Benicho Kogo entirely, his own left and right hand surging towards Igen as his Heart-Essence step took him all of a scant few inches to HIS right away from the punch, and even closer to Igen, inside of where the younger Shinigami could throw effective punches, the blood rushing up only slightly slower than Igen's attack, catching and forming into a full, statuesque depiction of Benicho Kogo's spirit form blocking the attack for her master at the moment it touched Hyosuke's hair. The Ex-Captain's eyes, strangely, no longer their usual crimson.....


Instead of harming Igen, punching him or otherwise, and perhaps do something more surprising, Hyosuke's left hand touched his bare side through his open clothing, and his right hand would cup Igen's chin gently, thumb pressing against his jaw and just barely caressing his lower lip. Hyosuke's own countenance now a kind, gentle smile as his thumb brushed Igen's cheek and tingled gently, before his hand moved down, palm open, to Igen's chest and a full-power Raikoho was unleashed into Igen's chest as he murmured. This exertion enough to all but take Hyosuke's breathe away from the effort as he had now experienced enough of Igen's durability to gauge an attack to set their finale.

"I know, Igen-kun......~"

Hyosuke took a moment to feel a large amount of remorse as Igen's arm flailed into his neck with all the force of a scared child. Hyosuke saw the range of emotions that played out across Igen's face in that moment, closely and intently, and as Igen skidded to a stop Hyosuke replaced his eyepatch and sighed softly at the blood that now haphazardly splashed across his own visage. Benicho Kogo, with no blood to manipulate in it's fibers, had fallen tip-down in the ground, and Hyosuke wove all the blood back into his robes and Wagasa as Igen clutched his chest. Pondering as he did so Hyosuke realized he was dealing with something quite a bit more severe in this instance than he originally surmised.

Initially he had noted the younger Shinigami's reaction to compliments, a sheepishness distinct from his usually fierce demeanor, and while Hyosuke had certainly meant for his taunts and actions to poke that particular nerve..... he had underestimated just how deep the wound that nerve was nestled in was. As Igen rasped his concession to the physical confrontation Hyosuke nodded, a gentle motion, and kept his expression carefully neutral.

"For our physical challenge, yes I agree."

A brief pause, a brief consideration, before Hyosuke simply stated.

"If I may be so bold Igen-san, one's physical strength, and one's Zanpakuto spirit, can only make up for so much if the mind of the combatant possesses a deep wound."

Hyosuke would approach him slowly, not getting too close, with a posture that was lax enough to convey he held no intent to continue their challenge.

"You do not know me, though the iron is hot so to speak, and if there is something buried beneath your role as challenger and your zealous demeanor it is something worth confronting, painful as it may be. On this, and in this moment, this alone, I speak from experience. Whatever you have experienced, whatever I may have encroached upon hidden in your heart, I apologize for doing so. I misunderstood the severity of exactly what it was your are hiding. You are more than welcome to stay, to rest, though dojos make for poor hospices and you'll likely want the comfort of somewhere familiar in this moment."

Hyosuke had lived to see many emotions flash across the face of others before, most of them truthfully much better at hiding their exasperation than Igen, and Hyosuke felt more than a small amount of pity for the younger Shinigami. Thankfully for Igen's temper Hyosuke was vastly better at the pink-haired Shinigami at concealing his emotions, so no pity showed in his crimson eyes as he noted a few distinct, extreme emotions burn through Igen's once-cheerful demeanor. Disgust, revulsion, helpless, fear and anger pooling in those pink eyes and Hyosuke began to have a fuller picture of exactly what kind of mindset he was confronted with.

Keeping most his thoughts to himself Hyosuke wanted to say something else, to assuage Igen, but Hyosuke knew the look in his eyes meant only that Igen would take his words as further provocation if said before he was ready. In those tense moments Hyosuke knew all too well Igen was likely trapped in his own mind, at war with himself, and he knew that a mind could only combat itself for so long before it lashed out at the world around them. Unable to bear the self-inflicted wounds any longer. Though only an Ex-Captain Hyosuke could not help the singular, disappointing thought crossing his mind that Igen was.... unfit for duty.

Though rarer than their more savage kin Hollows and Arrancar existed that preyed upon emotions, negatives of all kinds, and if having a previously-existing discomfort compromised in a safe, non-lethal environment had brought Igen to where he was now.... Hyosuke remembered the hollow-eyed look Igen had adopted before.... and he grimaced softly as Igen tersely replied he had appointments to keep. As the younger Shinigami left Hyosuke did not even think of stopping him, he did not want Igen tearing himself apart even further, but he did feel this was as low a point as any to close the dojo for the day.

So with relatively slow, contemplative motions did Hyosuke clean the yard and put away the tea set, sweep the floors and, in his melancholy, even cleaned the place he had left for Hana to clean upon her return. In truth he was now stuck in his own mind as he both pitied and evaluated Igen from their interaction. A Shinigami so full of zeal, so headstrong, yet with such a glaring weakness..... even he had been fooled into thinking Igen a very hopeful prospect. But now? Despite how he knew Igen must despise him Hyosuke slid the doors to the dojo shut for the night and at the end of his long and tangled thought process... he was not upset at the younger Shinigami, indeed even his pity had melted away, all that he felt was a sense of worry for Igen. He had, after all, been a wounded young Shinigami himself once upon a time......