Lunch? (Rei/Erica)

It’d been another hectic morning for the healer and she must have walked up and down the corridors about a hundred times already, looking in on her ever increasing number of patients. Fortunately, she hadn’t actually had to do much healing and for the most part, it was just making sure that folks were taking their medicine and not overdoing things. There were always a few that would try and pull a fast one but Erica had learned quickly had to handle such things. The pink haired woman was sharper than she might appear and the look that she’d been forced to give an arguing patient that morning proved that while gentle and soft spoken, she was not to be crossed.

Finally with a little time to herself, Erica’s green eyes would come across Rei coming from the other direction. With a smile, she’d greet the Squad 8 members warmly. “Hey there, Rei, are you doing OK?" She hoped that she wouldn’t end up having to give the woman a lecture like the others.

The eyes of the healer lit up as the box was handed to her and with a smile, she gently took it along with the chopsticks. It was definitely time for lunch and Erica’s stomach was in complete agreement with her. There was always something else to do in the infirmary and more often than not, breaks tended to be skipped on occasion. Erica knew better than most how unhealthy that was but once she set her mind to something, she found it hard to stop.

It was nice that Rei had remembered the promise she’d made to the healer and the pink haired woman beckoned to her to follow. “Thank you for the little gift. Let’s head to the dining area so we can chow down there. It’s about time I took a break.”

As they walked, she’d ask gently. “How are you feeling?”

“I remember although I wasn’t expecting you to go through with it so soon. You don’t hang around.” The healer replied with a chuckle, pleased that Rei seemed to be on the mend. She’d taken a nasty beating at the hands of her opponent and Erica had been left feeling a little drained after that particular healing session. Still, seeing Rei back to perfect health was worth it and the kido user was pleased that she’d been able to help. She only hoped that the Eight Squad member didn’t dive too quickly back into training, before she was completely ready for it.

As they kept walking, Erica would answer Rei’s comment with a smile. “We do have chefs who work here but mostly it’s the patients that they cook for. Of course we can head to the food hall and eat as well but we’re so busy most of the time that it’s hard to find ten minutes where we can rest and recharge. It’s tiring work here but I wouldn’t trade it for the world. I get so much joy from healing others.”

“You’re right of course but saying and doing are two different things. I’m sure you can understand what I mean.” Knowing how eager Rei was to get back into training, the pink haired healer was pretty sure that the eyepatch wearing Shinigami knew exactly the point that she was trying to make. She said it in a friendly way though and knew that somehow, she’d had to find time for a lunch break during her shifts. There was no denying that she was exhausted at the end of each day and there were evenings where she fell asleep as soon as she got home. She assumed it was just part of the learning process and that her stamina would get better with time.

Opening the box she’d been given, Erica would eat a mouthful or two of the ramen using the chopsticks, her face nearly lighting up by the taste. “It’s good! You have a knack for cooking, Rei.”

“Not yet but I admit that my focus has mostly been on Kido rather than Zanjutsu.” Erica replied honestly, in answer to Rei’s question. “I think that I’m on my way to doing so though as my sword has already started to react to how I’m feeling. Whenever someone around me feels stressed out, it releases a flowery scent that helps to calm them down although I confess that it’s not something I can control just yet. My blade does it when it feels it needs to. I think it wants to have a conversation with me, something that I need to do when I have some free time.”

Taking a few more bites of the ramen, Erica would lead Rei into a large room that would look like a cafeteria, before sitting in the first empty chair she found, encouraging her friend to do the same.

“How about you? Any luck with speaking with your sword? I know that’s what it’s all about when it comes to achieving shikai. I was talking about it with another Shinigami just the other day.”