She's One of Them! [Arianda/Sora]

Sora had stopped trying a long time ago. It wasn't about stopping; it was about starting again. He had lost hope of ever normally socializing with women, so he tried dealing with them the best he could, and his best was bad. Now, Ari was offering him actual help on getting over it. Most women just laughed and moved on with their lives. He knew he'd regret it if he didn't at least try. He couldn't live the next one hundred years or so like this, so... it was time to start trying again.

"Alright," Sora nodded and did as she said. He focused on his breathing. "Th-The Gotei United? No, never. They're not even a real authority anymore. Just a powerful friendship club with powerful people that throw their weight around the moment someone stands against them. They stand for nothing but happiness, sunshine, and rainbows." And for the first time since they met, Ari got a full sentence from him without his stuttering. Now, was that the subject or her teaching?

Ah, there it was, a complete sentence without any stuttering. However, Arianda chose not to bring attention to it. Attention brought to such a thing would likely cause Sora's confidence to crumble and he would go back to stuttering every single word, syllable, and sentence. She would prefer to keep that from happening. So Arianda listened, tilting her head a tiny bit as she at her food as she listened to Sora. The way he spoke of the Gotei United... Did he really know what was going on there or was he only assuming? Assumptions based on false information weren't exactly for the best, after all.

"Oh? Well that's alright, I suppose. But how do you know they work on such things if you don't work with them? What's the true issue there, Sora? Anyone with power can throw their weight around, I would know; but why remark so particularly on how you believe the Gotei United operates? I have a few friends in the Gotei, and I can hardly believe they operate by friendship and throwing their weight around."

Arianda's gaze was calculating, but it was brief before the demon returned to her food, a casual air permeating her entire being as she allowed Sora the time he needed to think of a response, to collect himself, and, above all, to make sure he kept his breathing in control. If he became panicked, he would certainly lose all composure and begin stuttering again. Besides! He was doing much better now.

"They certainly don't operate with the sense of duty and honor they once did," Sora said, crossing his arms. "How do you think I got a zanpakuto? I was there. I was in a squad for a while too, but after all that stupid shifting from the Gotei Thirteen to the Gotei of rainbows and sunshine, it changed from being an actual military force to a large school club with more power than they should have."

"Don't get me wrong; I'm sure there are a few individuals that still believe in them," Sora said, his tone filled with disbelief and slight annoyance, not realizing he was having a normal conversation. "And there are probably people who still think they're doing their job, but I can't. The Gotei isn't sup-" And then he realized it. A single glance up to that look on Ari's face and Sora's confidence was slashed.

"L-L-Look, I don't..." Sora looked away and rubbed the back of his head. As he tried to collect his words, he lowered his head, refusing to make eye contact. "I mean... Well... Aahhh, j-just forget about it, okay? I-It's not important. Not really..."

"If you were there, Sora, then you would know why the Gotei 13 became the Gotei United. The Gotei before the Gotei United was falling apart because of the demons invasions; crumbling and becoming a shadow of what it truly was. From what I understand, the woman who kept it together at the time was dealt a terrible hand. So, Sora, I wouldn't discredit the current Gotei as much as you do... That reform was not out of friendship, sunshine, and rainbows, it was out of a need to conform against the horrors of war."

Arianda fixed Sora with another look before, finally, the man had noticed he was having a semi-regular conversation, and then he broke down completely. Arianda couldn't help but smile a tiny bit, reaching across the table to gently ruffle his hair and smile at him warmly.

"Sora, deep breaths, take a moment, relax. What you have to say is important, and I want to hear it. Take another breath, relax yourself, and just focus on talking and eating, okay? You got this."

Sora didn't take any deep breaths, but he stared down at his food and ate a couple more bites. He didn't like this conversation. People who supported the current Gotei never made any sense to him. A couple years of bad luck and hardship, and suddenly it's time to throw away almost two thousands years of history and success with a stupid, idealistic new name and dropping the number of Divisions? What kind of childish mind comes up with that shit? Sora only imagined the person that made those decisions as an idiot painting over old history to try to make things "prettier." There were other ways to bring people together, not this crap.

"Anyone who decides a few years of difficulty means destroy the traditions and history of the centuries and shinigami that came before doesn't' deserve credit." Sora said, leaning back in his seat and crossing his arms. "You build something that lasts for two thousand years, and then what you build faces something unheard of. Some new wannabe shows up and decides, well, why don't we give it a new name, tear down multiple pieces of it, and pretend its better than what thousands of others already supported. How the hell is that something to be respected? I don't care what hand she was dealt No one with any respect should have followed her. There were other ways to deal with the demons that wouldn't negate years of dead Shinigami. And so far, no one has been able to convince me otherwise."

When Sora talked about something he felt real passion for, any of his stuttering vanished. He didn't hesitate a moment when saying his piece about the Gotei "United," and his posture, strong eye contact, and tone of voice showed he really was thoroughly disappointed in them. From his view, there was nothing to respect.