There For Tomorrow [Henrex, Kaminari]

There were countless kinds of people that he had dealt with in his life in the Gotei, academy, and his time in the Living World. But, something he had little experience with were people that would take a mile if you gave them an inch, ranting the moment it came to them. So, as Kaminari suddenly started to fire off her own thoughts and responses to it, he was, understandably, taken aback by it.

He tried to get a word in edgewise at first, to try and be polite -- especially since she had gravely misunderstood what he was meaning -- but, she was nowhere near stopping. So, with an irritated sight, the Captain's scarlet eyes suddenly turned serious. He'd cut her off as she talked about being unable to replace him easily, and he did something for the first time in a long while: raised his voice.

"Kaminari!"

It was only one word, her name, but the power, authority, and sheer will behind it elevated the volume and reach, as if he had shouted far louder than intended. It was as if his voice had thrown out an order for her to stop talking, though he never said it explicitly. The voice of a man with the will to potentially sway an army. His eyes were steely as he glared at her, before his gaze softened, putting a hand to his face and shaking his head.

"I'm sorry for yelling, but, I needed to get you to stop. You misunderstood what I was saying."

He sighed softly, before taking another, deeper breath, using the pause to give them both a moment to breathe and cool their heads.

"I'm not wanting anyone to hold all of those merits immediately, that's just the absolute ideal. Obviously, some of these things come with time. If my Lieutenant struggles or needs help, I will do my best to guide them, but I want to make sure that they don't need to come to me for everything. They might not have the experience, but I want them to at least have an idea and understanding of what they're doing."

He took a moment to breathe, but also to think. There was another thing that he felt needed to be addressed.

"As far as replacing me goes...that's an inevitability. There are times when I won't be there, and they'll need to fill in my place for a time, but, more importantly, there will come a day when I retire or possibly even die, and I want to make sure that I prepare my Lieutenant for that. I want to ensure that I do not leave either the Gotei or this world, with any more regrets than I already have."

He yelled at me...

The moment her name hit her ear with the amount of authority of a frustrated Captain, Kaminari shut up. She couldn't really blame him. She had a habit of ranting, but he still startled her. She glanced around, her cheeks flushed in red. That was embarrassing. She felt like she had just been scolded by the principal at school. She crossed her arms, sort of hugging herself as she glanced around. A few people were looking their way, whispering or just staring in confusion.

He... actually yelled at me.

Kaminari stayed silent. Though she was mentally pouting, she was listening to what he had to say. And what he had to say softened her demeanor in a few moments. And then Kaminari began tensing again... His talk went... morbid.

"Uh, Captain Astillon," Kaminari said, tilting her head to the side, confusion in the form of 'what the hell' plastered on her face. "Um... You do know Shinigami can live for over a thousand years, right? And that you're considered one of the most powerful people in the realm? This talk about inevitability and replacing is just dark. You're not going not going to die. I get the filling in thing, but replacement is a whole different issue. Now, don't get me wrong. I get what you're saying..."

Kaminari took a deep breath and thought a moment. It was clear she had something else to say, but was figuring out how to word it.

"Mmmmm.... Thanks for that," Kaminari said, smiling. "You said what a Captain should say. If I was any stealthy, I might consider switching Divisions."

As Kaminari's expression shifted into confusion, he rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. Maybe it was a bit dark and, admittedly, dramatic to be saying things like that. But, no matter how much power he gained, there was always going to be someone stronger, and, as powerful as he was -- he knew that there were many ways that someone could kill him, some he likely didn't even know of.

"Mm...I'm aware that we can live for a very, very long time. But, regardless of whether or not I die, someone replacing me is an inevitability. I can't stay the Captain forever, after all. Perhaps when I finally am able to find someone to settle down with."

He took a look around them, noticing the whispers and stares, and quickly gestured for her to follow him as he started to walk away, giving a light wave to the shopkeep that had sold them the small Zodiac statues. He chuckled softly at Kaminari's suggestion, and he shook his head.

"There's nothing wrong with taking the aspects from other division's specialties and applying them to yourself. Stealth doesn't always have to be about keeping yourself hidden and assassinating people without a sound. You could make practical use of it, like learning to conceal your Kido and take enemies by surprise. To become the best person you can be, you should take knowledge from many places. No one person, division, or group has all the answers."

Something Henrex just said tickled the back of Kaminari's mind. He was looking for someone to settle down with? Kaminari stared at him for a moment and then looked away, even more confused. Even while he was talking about stealth applications of kido, she was distracted. "Wait, but I thought... you and Mirai..." Kaminari said, but then quickly waved that off. "Nevermind, ignore that."

"S-So, you were talking about stealthy kido, right?" Kaminari said, trying to change the subject. "How would someone do that? Maybe we can do a training session or two. I'd like to learn a few things from the strongest Captains in the Gotei!"

I wonder if Mirai's gonna kill me after that... Oh well. Kaminari did her best to bring up something else, but depending on how curious Henrex was, she might have revealed a bit of information Mirai would be upset about. However, if Henrex was extremely good at reading people, he'd likely be able to tell that Kaminari... did that shit on purpose. Maybe she was trying to play matchmaker? Who knows?

Even in his explanations of stealthy applications toward Kido, he caught the confused look. Wait, she thought that he and Mirai were an item? He couldn't blame them, with the closeness he had with her, compared to most of the other members. Had they come across as too close? But...he couldn't deny that Mirai was a beautiful woman. If Kaminari had made that assumption, then...

His cheeks turned a light shade of pink. What were others saying? What kind of rumors were being passed around the Gotei? He shook his head lightly giving an awkward wave of his hands.

"Mirai is a wonderful woman, but we're not together. Not as of now, at least."

While he was mostly just spouting a bit of deflection to answer her, even if she wanted to move on from the topic, there was a small slip-up that he hadn't noticed. Rather, he quickly shifted topics to what Kaminari had been asking about. Lifting a hand, he wordlessly summon a bright red sphere of burning energy in his hand.

"W-Well, for example, you could take a Shakkaho spell and use Bakudo twenty-six, Kyokko, to conceal it. You could condense a Shakkaho or Sokatsui onto your fingertip with enough skill, and adjust the grip on your sword to make it all the more difficult to discern if you have a Kido spell ready or not. You could also use Bakudo twenty-one, Sekienton, to conceal your body and give you breathing room, or fire off other spells within the smokescreen."

Kaminari caught that. She needed a moment to think, so the quick move off of the topic gave her the perfect chance. Funnily enough, his explanations actually did strike a chord with her. She thought a few moments on how to do those herself, how to train for it, but could not help but wave that off. She shook her head, as if to shake the thoughts out and then smirked knowingly at Captain Astillon.

"By the words, 'Not as of now, at least,' you know, that you said... it kind of implies that either you have been together in the past, or... you have thought of pursuing a relationship with Mirai in the past... And since she and I have tea once a week when she's not out on mission, I'm pretty damn sure that you and Mirai have never broken up, so... that could only mean one thing... When are you asking her out?"

Kaminari leaned in a little close, turning her ear toward Yuuto to show that he could whisper it if he wanted tooooo. There was a teenage-ish look of excitement in her eyes, like she was ready to help hook the two of them up. It'd be so fun!

Oh dear -- he saw that smile, and he immediately became concerned. The Shakkaho in his hand quickly fizzled out as she started prying into what he had said, particularly him saying 'not as of now'. He was more focused on switching the topic that he hadn't put as much thought into what he said, and what came out involuntarily only caused it to go back to that. His cheeks turned a light pink as he avoided her gaze.

"I-I don't know. It's just a passing thought from time to time. She's one of my closest friends, she's a beautiful woman, but..."

His expression went from timid embarrassment to crestfallen and concerned. Those gentle scarlet eyes moved to the ground. It was something that he had thought of, even if only in passing. But, there were countless things that also came to mind that gave concern to the idea.

"Therein lies the problem. She's my friend, and I don't want to make things awkward. Sometimes, friends are...just that. I don't want to risk jeopardizing our friendship like that. Not to mention the issue of us working together."

"Can I speak without getting in trouble?" Kaminari asked the Captain, an eyebrow raised. Given permission to speak, she runs her hands through her hair and stares.

"You're both being idiots," Kaminari said. "Yes, you both are thinking very similarly about this. Do not get me wrong, this is sweet, but it's selfish and it's taking away her choice in the matter, the same way I told her it is taking away yours. If you've thought of her that way, and she thinks of you that way, and you never discuss it? Don't you think she deserves some say in what happens in her own love life? The only way to get the right answer is for you both to, at least, talk it out."

"Besides, as shinigami, we live way too long to be worried about that," Kaminari said, flicking her hand through her hair and a smirk coming to her lips. "That's a basic human concern. You will ruin nothing, working together shouldn't be a factor. We are literally too old for that human teenager drama. Wouldn't you agree?"

As Kaminari asked if she could speak without getting in trouble, he nodded. It wasn't as if he could punish her -- he was neither her Captain nor her parent -- he had no authority to do so. Nevertheless, he kept silent as she spoke. He probably was being an idiot about it -- of that, he wouldn't deny. Mirai deserved to have a say in the matter too, it involved her, after all.

Yet, to say that it was a human problem, was something he never would agree with, though perhaps that was because he was once human himself. Perhaps part of him was just afraid to love again -- after the tumultuous storm that his own love life had been prior. Twice abandoned, neither with reason, and yet here he still stood.

There was a risk of their relationship becoming strained and awkward, yet, if the feeling was confirmed to be mutual...there was at least reason to discuss. So, while he didn't respond to her last statement, he sighed quietly, rubbing his eyes.

"...I'll try and find a way to broach the topic."

Mission Accomplished

Even if things did not go perfectly well between Captain Astillon and Mirai, Kaminari was definitely going to take credit for getting the ball rolling. She wished she could see the look on Mirai's face when he brought it up, but would settle for Mirai's' excitement when she was told the story. The two of them seemed too nice for their own good, and missing out on what would likely be a lucrative and beautiful opportunity felt silly. She only hoped that Captain Astillon was the type of man Mirai often described him as. If not, well... She may have set Mirai up for failure and that would be a different story, one Kaminari did not want to experience.

With the cockiest smirk that anyone did see, Kaminari turned on her heel, practically skipping back toward the Seireitei, feeling quite accomplished for today.

"Wonderful."