Flames of Fate [Tsubine/Hono]

Tsubine had access to people. That was his real resource. Many of them weren't powerful or influential, but the amount of people he knew—and as a result knew him—made up for some of that. He had his eyes on another doctor, but approaching them would be... difficult to say the least, so he hadn't done it yet. So the old Gotei retiree who had been called into service only once since his retirement decades ago was the best he had on-hand at this time.

Tsubine shook his head in answer of her question. It was something in-between a "no, there aren't" and "no, I don't know." "Hey, job or not, some people like quiet days. Then again, there are people like J who sort-of thrive in high-stress environments. If it's boring, he's stressed." Tsubine chuckled. He doubted Hono would even know who he was talking about, but he also didn't know that the two shared a Division. Tsubine knew J was part of the Sixth Division, but had forgotten its duties and so the connection was never made. "Hollows are rare, even out here. The Gotei has done a good job of keeping most of them away, and what little we do get... they're not usually like this."

Tsubine sighed. "This thing was... tricky to say the least, and definitely not your run-of-the-mill Hollow. ...at least to my knowledge. I'm not the Shinigami here, now am I?" He chuckled and side-eyed Hono. He decided to change the subject slightly. "How long have you been in the Gotei?"

Tsubine blinked in surprise. He was definitely not expecting to once again be just a step away from a Captain. Yeah, he was going to make sure to make a good impression—if only to make sure he didn't get another Captain knocking on his door. There wasn't anything for him to say to that other than uh-oh. Those thoughts were going to keep him on his toes, and he placed his hand back on his Zanpakutō again.

Tsubine shrugged in response to her question. He honestly didn't know. "That first aid you did probably saved him." He did want to give some small words of encouragement. Her nervousness was, honestly, kind-of cute, and whoever this Captain of the Earth Division was, she was lucky. He was going to have to get J to write down the Divisions and what they did. "Correct. Only time I've been in a Gotei facility is when I got brought to the hospital after almost getting killed by a Hollow. I do my best to protect and provide for where I'm from."

Tsubine let out a sigh. He was about to say more but spun when he heard approaching footsteps. The group of bodyguards returned, although without the cart he requested. An elderly man stepped out from behind them catching his breath. He held up a finger to indicate to give him a moment. He hacked something up, then took a deep breath. The old healer introduced himself and got to work on the unconscious Shinigami. After a few tense minutes, the old man sighed. "He'll be fine, but he'll have a nasty headache. Maybe some confusion and light amnesia. Since Shikamura was out with his cart, he'll have to walk on his own back to the Seireitei."

With a glow and flick of the wrist, the old man slapped the unconscious Shinigami. His eyes shot open. He reached out to try to strike at someone—anyone, and Tsubine let his Reiatsu flare for a moment to force the man back down. "Easy now. We're not here to hurt you. The Hollow's dead. You were knocked out, and we just healed you." Only after Tsubine's last words did he let up on the Reiatsu push. He extended a hand to help the big guy up, but it was not accepted. Rude. "Hono here's from your Division apparently. I don't have anything to offer you in terms of an easy ride back, but I can at least walk the two of you out of my home district. Sound good?" Tsubine looked to Hono, seeing if she'd agree.