Something Different [Asami, Lerna]

Another day.

The thought occured to Lerna here and there. A question that budded in her mind in the midst of all of the busy work, the protocol, and nuanced hoops that she went through each and every day in this place:

Why had she chosen to be this?

She could have been whatever she wanted to be. A small, nervous voice in her mind noted perhaps it was safety. But had she truly ever felt threatened by Shinigami? What was it that kept her here? She had grown, she had learned, she wasgrowing more powerful by the day. And frnakly, she would likely continue to do so, even if she weren't a part of .... all of this. And so she often felt that drifting sense of ...cusiosity. About what she might otherwise be. Seeing Mizu struggle with her own sense of pride. Watching as Kabuto clashed with his own inner monster and lack of memory. Playing witness to Murasaki having the power to make so many changes she'd hoped for when she'd lacked the power to take action that was needed. Fighting alongside Tento and Solomon down on earth amidst that massive pit.

Did she .... like all of this? She wondered. Humans expressed their likes as simply as they breathed. And yet... Lerna did wonder if she truly 'Liked' the things that happened around her. Was she satisfied? Or simply content.

Well, that was the kind of shit that spun through her head whenever she had to do Jinzen. A meditative state made for bonding with one's Zanpaku'to. Bu ...well.....for her, it just felt like being alone with ... her own thoughts. Or well...the thoughts of her Zanpaku'to. She wasn't quite sure what the difference was. And when she finally opened her eyes, she saw the usual. Some bored students. Others seeming as if they had snapped out of something. And her feeling...... uncertain. The voice of the teacher barely registered, and she wondered what her Zanpaku'to was trying to tell her with all this. Hm.

It was times like these that she enjoyed the company of some of the more.....interesting Shinigami.Or at least, the food and atmosphere that came with some of their more interesting hang outs. When Lerna slipped into the Bar, she didn't even see Asami at first. Her head still abuzz with idle thoughts, she made her way over to the counter itself and sat down with a heavy sigh. Ordering herself a bit of food and a drink before she began to relax and .... take a minute to sort herself before a smile crossed her face at the sight of food being set out infront of her. "Thanks Shire." She noted with a roguish wink to the server, earning her a smile back before she sighed.

Those toughts seemed to evaporate almost instantly. And with food before her, she promptly began to dig in with earnest. But well, not complete obliviousness. A couple bites in was when she spotted them. That familiar head of black hair that promptly had Lerna swallowing and putting on a smile.

"Hey, Asami!" She called out, offering a wave and gesturing for the woman to come join her. Food always seemed to taste better with company. A sentiment she'd always had before, only now she called them friends instead of 'garnish'.

Lerna gave a little snort and rolled her eyes at the very idea. "Nah not at all. Come on and take a load off." She noted with a dismissive wave, leaning back in her seat and taking a small bite of her food before flashing Kanae a little smirk after she finished chewing. "Been Getting on pretty well. Making progress at my own pace and all that. Gotta admit I was kinda thinking of asking you the same thing." She pointed out, setting her food to the side and turning to look at the woman directly.

"Things at the Academy have been kinda alright. Though Admittedly I've kinda....gone a bit ahead of most of my peers. Honestly I'm kinda glad that I only just joined the Academy. I'm stuggling, but so are a lot of my peers. So it doesn't feel so bad." She sighed and leaned back a bit in her seat. "What about you? I mean, I know you're a teacher. But you must still train and all that too, right? How do you feel you've been doin?" She ventured. After all, as an active Gotei member, it was just something that seemed obvious to Lerna.

Surely Asami was trying to learn and grow as well right? So it stood to reason she'd take an interest in how her friend was doing in that department.

Lerna snorted softly at that and gave an amused chuckle at the woman's response. "That's an interesting way to phrase things. You think I should be doing better?" She ventured with an amused smile before shrugging her shoulders and waving a hand dismissively. "A lot of stuff going on in Seventh Division. Between the City of Lights and the Africa Incident, things have just been a little tight. Between internship, academy. And well...you know.. my actual life on earth it's a lot to Juggle." She noted with a sigh and a pause as she let her cheek rest in her palm. Glancing back to Asami and listening as she gave her own response to Lerna's question.

"Bit of a shame. Steppin on toes is pretty fun. some of my favorite sparring partners came outta a little toe stepping. But I guess people are kinda giving that squad a bit of a wide berth these days. I've HEARD a lot about the nww Captain. Haven't met her yet though. Annnnnd... wait did you say a Dojo? Out in ... the Rukongai?" She paused and backtracked just a little. A lot of things surprised her, but Asami going to some shlub in the Rukongai fro training was extra strange.

"Was it like.... any decent? I know they got stuff going on out there. But uh...I dunno I always just relied on the Academy for teachers. Would you recommend em?" Certainly she had only really experienced the bars out in Rukongai. Great places for a nice Scrap. But well, if Asami had gone and checked out a dojo, it was only natural she ask how it had went. Maybe it was someplace she aughta check out herself. Or maybe avoid like the plague, depending on Asami's take on it.

Lerna quirked a brow a bit at that and smirked, a little amused to say the least as a sigh escaped her. "I guess I'm still gettin used to that kinda thing comin in sincerely. Down on earth, that kinda thing usually comes in the form of sarcasm or a casual implication that you should get off your ass. Still, I guess I'm happy to hear that. It's nice to get the unsarcastic version." She noted with a soft sigh, closing her eyes and relaxing. Enjoying the moment as she pondered the radical differences she'd experienced between living on earth and well, adjusting to nonliving in the soul society.

Though, when Asami promptly shifted to a more gossipy tone of voice, Lerna was pretty quick to crack en eye open and glance in her direction with a raised brow. An Acquired taste eh? That meant she was either ugly, or a bitch. "Eh 'm pretty used to that. Got a pretty similar situation to my uh... new captain as well." She noted with a light sigh. She was incredibly happy that Murasaki had taken up the station that she had. Having a much more morally inclined and personable captain commander felt good. And certainly the policy changes did feel much better. But that also meant that her squad had a new captain.

"It's been uh... kinda interesting to say the least. apparently she went and fought the old Captain of Fourth. And friendly Fired him into a nice dirt nap. Some people have been saying it was an accident. Some other people have other ideas about what went down. Either way, it's certainly been an interesting couple months." She sighed. Were she a woman of weaker characer, she might have surmised that she belonged in another squad. But well, A, that wasn't how substitute shinigami worked. And B, like hell she was going to give up the sheer ammount of combat and field work she got to see in this division. She could see, possibly, swinging Fourth Division.

However, that NEXT bit of gossip, had Lerna choke on her drink before breaking out into a couching chuckle. "You WHAT?" She snorted out and gave Asami a VERY amused look. "Jeez, well that sucks. You want me to break his legs?" She ventured with a helpful smile and a playful wink before pausing and tilting her head. She was quiet for a moment as she regarded the other woman and .....pondered. She recalled their conversation they'd had, or...well...tangentially engaged in, around the whole incident with ...well. the guy Asami HAD been dating. And then, she wasn't. Asami hadn't given much information. Lerna hadn't pried. But asami HAD asked Lerna an ...interesting question. And so, looking to her Teacher, Lerna couldn't help but start to think.

About something that had been on her mind for a while.
"If you don't mind me asking. What is it you look for in a guy?" She ventured. Obviously, the fuckwad master in question sure wasn't it. But also, apparently Kyo hadn't been either. And that had gotten Lerna a little curious to say the least.

Lerna tilted her head a bit at Asami's assessment. But really didn't think too much about it. where she was from, that kind of shit earned you a side eye. Regardless of what any official report said, you kept your eye on someone like that. But well, she supposed they probably DID have someone keeping an eye on the Captain.

"Who knows. Maybe I'll make Captain someday." she noted with a sly smirk, but a serious undertone to her voice. She imagined it was plausible, to say the least. She certainly wasn't the worst candidate available by a long shot. Though there certainly would still be a bit of a road between her and that kind of position. Hell she wasn't even really seated yet.

Asami backpedaling a bit caused Lerna to give her an incredulous peer, as if sussing out if it warranted prying a bit further into. But that only lasted a moment as she nodded. "Hm, fair enough. So .... 'Rather Quickly' huh? Does that mean if he'd wanted to take things slow you'd have given him the time of day?" She ventured with something of a concerned look. She didn't miss that lost look on her friend's face, and after Asami gave .... a gist of what it was she really wanted, Lerna went quiet for a few moments. .....

"I guess I can see that. Wanting someone to take things seriously. But that's kinda broad isn't it? That's just how you want the guy to approach things. But what about the KIND of guy you're looking for? Anyone with a pulse can get serious about things." She pointed out as she took another bite of her food and drummed her fingers. Aware that she was being......what WAS she being? She wasn't sure but she felt a little concerned. She wasn't sure why, but well...here she was. Something about the idea of some ....shmuck coming along and matching up with the woman got her a little irritated. After all, she had a lot of respect for the woman, truth be told, she knew a little about that Kyo guy, and had been kinda hoping that would work. He had seemed like a good guy. But now well... she didn't know how to put her finger on what she felt now.

But well, that never stopped her from doing whatever she felt like before. And regardless of her troubled feelings, she still knew that she wanted to know more about what Asami was looking for. so she just focused on that.