Nascent Dreams [Kyo, Mizu]

As she walked back to the Eighth Division barracks, Mizu, on several occasions, walked straight into passersby and on one occasion, a door. Even as the dull throb of pain on her skull heightened with every elbow or wall she came into contact with, Mizu refused to look where she was going. Her golden eyes were too busy staring at the wooden Vice Captain badge held tightly in her hands.

Though she had been able to overcome her shock in the moment and accept the promotion Rukia offered her, now Mizu was barely registering her surroundings as she walked haphazardly back to her old squad barracks. In front of the Eighth's entrance, Mizu gazed up at the barracks' division sign with a strange sense of regret. Everything she was leaving...everyone she was leaving...she thought back to her first steps into the newly-created squad last year. Before that fateful transfer, she was nothing. Just a girl from Rukongai with dreams too big for even her family to believe in.

Mizu shook off these feelings and walked into the building she had done more growing in than in her entire prior life. As her eyes were pulled back down to the badge in her hands, Mizu knew who she needed to tell first. Kyo-san. That was all she needed to immediately make her way to his office, Vice Captain badge held tightly to her chest as if it would be taken from her at any moment. Then, at his office, Mizu breathed in deeply and entered.

It wasn't very common that Kyo got visitors to his office, so Mizu coming in almost caught him by surprise. If anyone would have come by to visit, though, it didn't really surprise him that it was her, and his expression brightened with his usual confident smile as he stood to greet her.

"Mizu-san! Good to see you. What brings you here?"

His eyes naturally moved toward her hand clutching close to her chest, but he wasn't the kind of person who was going to pry about it. Could he tell what it was she was holding? Maybe. He didn't want to jump to any conclusions, though, and besides, it was much better if he let her reveal the news herself if he was right.

Mizu felt a spark of joy as she laid eyes on her friend, which only made her even more excited to share the news of her promotion. Before she did, she made sure to bow at the waist and build up the suspense a little bit, choosing to hold the badge behind her back as she initially spoke. "Hello, Kyo-san! I just wanted to stop in and say hello, that's all. It's such a wonderful day and I thought it would be nice to see you!"

Even as she pretended she didn't have any ulterior motive for coming to Kyo's office, her face remained brightly lit by the giddy uncontrollable smile decorating it. Like any other time she tried to be sneaky or devious though, the facade quickly shattered and Mizu just couldn't help but blurt out the truth. With far more flair than one might expect, Mizu revealed her brand new Vice Captain badge with a flourish "I'm a Vice Captain! Captain Kuchiki-sama chose me to be her new Vice Captain!! Can you believe it?!"

Though Kyo had certainly sensed that Mizu was hiding something, he wouldn't have imagined it was something quite that momentous, and it took a moment for it to really sink in for him. His warm smile quickly grew into an excited grin, and with a laugh, he couldn't help but step forward and pick the much smaller shinigami up in excitement.

"Congratulations, Mizu-san! Ah, I should be calling you Vice Captain Morikawa, shouldn't I?"

It was hard not to be excited for a promotion such as this one for any friend, much less a girl like Mizu. Her ambition was infectious, and Kyo knew she was one of the only people with drive enough to match even his, if not exceed it. One would be hard-pressed not to be glad for her.

"I'm proud of you! And working under Captain Kuchiki, I've heard that she's great!"

Admittedly, some of that had been from Shiro, who Kyo knew was biased, but it still seemed to be a fairly common sentiment.

Kyo's slightly delayed reaction almost worried Mizu, but before she could start going through what possible reasons he could have for not being happy for her, his smile quickly became the Sun itself to her. Not only was she still excited for herself, Mizu also found herself excited because Kyo was excited as well. Even as short as a year prior she could not have imagined herself in this position, a newly-appointed Vice Captain with a close friend thrilled for her accomplishment. She was so overwhelmed she barely noticed her feet were no longer touching the ground.

Typically Mizu would flush redder than a tomato upon being manhandled like this, but for whatever reason she was unruffled by it. Perhaps she was too distracted by being called Vice Captain Morikawa for the first time ever. Or maybe there was another reason. Either way, she continued on in her elation "Of course you don't have to call me that....unless you want to." Mizu couldn't help adding the last part as she was already too attached to the title, though she let out a little chuckle to signify she wasn't completely serious.

"Captain Kuchiki-sama is amazing! I will miss the Eighth, but I couldn't be happier about serving under such an exemplary, talented, and legendary Captain. What's next for you though, Kyo-san? What do you want for yourself?" she asked inquisitively, her wide golden eyes looking up at him with an eyebrow slightly raised.

It didn't really strike Kyo that there might have been something odd about picking Mizu up, and he simply laughed at her little quip. It was good to hear her so confident about it, at least. That sort of assuredness was good to see in a friend.

"Is that so? Well, it wouldn't feel right to ignore your rank! Then people might not respect the title, and you've earned it."

Setting her down, Kyo thought about her question. What did he want for himself? In the broad sense, he knew the answer to that, but having more immediate goals was how one achieved greater ambitions. He'd made good progress thus far, but there was still much more he could do.

"I want to reach the same heights my father did during his time in the Gotei, but that'll definitely mean I need to pick up the pace on training. Develop my zanpakuto more, redouble all my studying. Of course, I can't slack on my architectural work either, but now that the barracks are finished I'll have more free time."

Of course, that sounded a little bit shortsighted, didn't it? Kyo certainly had more in mind than that, and though there were few people in the Gotei he'd have directly said it to, he trusted Mizu enough that he felt he could actually talk about his goals.

"I'm planning to learn here in the 8th for as long as I can, and I've been doing work with the 6th Division, too. I won't rest until I'm confident I can be a captain."

Would she really mind if people ignore her rank? Mizu always held herself to a higher standard than she held others to, both due to her childhood as well as the pressure she constantly puts herself under to be better. If people wanted to her ignore her title, then so be it...maybe. It really does feel nice to be called Vice Captain though. she mused silently. Maybe Kyo was right, she thought, maybe having earned her rank through hard work and effort made her care more about how others treat it.

Having all these different things on his plate impressed Mizu. Though she would never judge someone for being less dedicated or busy, she was at least glad Kyo seemed to be as diligent as herself. Given all his hobbies and passions as well, maybe even more so! At least he could concentrate on his Gotei work, for now at least, with his architectural responsibilities momentarily taken care of. Mizu was glad for this too, as she felt herself selfishly wanting him to focus on their shared dream.

"The Eighth Division is such a wonderful squad full of wonderful people!" said Mizu with a gleeful smile on her face. "Just remember, we made a promise on our dream. We have to do our best, not just for ourselves, but for each other too, Kyo-san! At least for now, a little birdie told me a 4th Seat position is open in the Division." she said with a playful look.

"It is. I'll certainly miss having one of its most wonderful people around, but I've heard the 2nd Division could use a little bit more cheer, and I get the feeling you'll do well at that."

Kyo appreciated Mizu's confidence in him, but if he was being more realistic with himself,he wasn't actually certain that he merited taking the rank she'd vacated. After all, 4th seat was quite prestigious already, higher than his own mother had ever managed, and he didn't consider himself on her level by any means. At the same time, though, it was hard to deny his own progress, and for that matter, it was harder still to deny the confidence Mizu had in him.

"I'd never forget that promise, Mizu-san. I'll have to look into this little bird's advice, then. After all, if she thinks I'd fit the position, I can hardly turn down that kind of belief, hm?"

He met her playful expression with a smile of his own, finding the back and forth very endearing. There weren't many people he could talk like this with. Kasha, Shiro, that might have really been it. Finding someone else was certainly all too welcome, though it did lead to a faint disappointment in the back of his mind as he realized she'd be off in a completely different division now.

Mizu's cheeks turned a bright scarlet from Kyo calling her the "most wonderful" member of the Eighth. Not just because it's a high and sincere compliment, but also because of who it was coming from. Even if Mizu didn't realize it at this very second, there was more than one reason she cared so much about what Kyo thinks, and especially what he thinks of her. Due to this, she felt truth breathed into his words. Him calling her wonderful made her feel wonderful, as opposed to when others compliment her and she feels obligated to downplay their words.

"I hope I can bring to the Second the many things I learned here in the Eighth. Everyone in the Division made me a better person, and a more capable Shinigami. Including you, Kyo-san." As for her suggestion to him to seek her now-vacated seat, Mizu certainly meant it. "The little birdie thinks you would be an amazing Fourth Seat. She couldn't think of a single person she would rather see succeed her." Even as she remained red as a poppy field, her lips widened in a great smile, sincerity plastered across her face as she spoke.

Kyo was typically always quite composed, but Mizu's smile, and the bright red that had spread across her expression, actually gave him a brief moment of pause. He wasn't exactly innocent enough not to understand the reason why it made him react that way, either, but he wasn't quite sure how he ought to feel about that, given recent circumstances. Even as he spoke, he was still thinking of what to do with that particular realization.

"I've got no doubt you'll make it a wonderful place. And if someone qualified enough to be a vice captain thinks I should succeed her, then naturally I can't let her down."

But that was hardly the only reason he didn't want to let her down, and he felt almost awkward for not addressing it. Should he? Kyo was always confident in everything he did, but he had to admit that he felt a bit unsure for the moment. This was, after all, still a conversation about work. Sure, it was happening because of their more personal attachments, but it was ultimately professional in nature.

Right?

"Being able to share our dreams is what's gotten me so far, and knowing it's gotten you even further means a lot to me. So... Well, I know seeing people in other divisions, especially with work needing to be done, isn't especially common. I wouldn't exactly want to suddenly stop seeing you, so how about we meet up outside work? Over dinner, maybe?"

It was, with barely any hindsight, probably one of the least "smooth" manners of asking a woman that sort of question that Kyo had ever managed. But Mizu was, also, certainly not the sort of woman he'd typically asked in his life. Call it a series of outliers.