Situational Awareness [Yuuki/Moe]

Moe was quite in her own world when there was a sudden burst of activity before her. One of her squad mates hopping down from the roof caused her to instinctively recoil, half expecting them to attempt (and fail) to jump her, but she stopped short of swinging a wild punch. The voice was strangely familiar, she had heard it before and yet not for a while, so she blinked once, twice, and then let a toothy grin creep across her face.

“Yuuki!” Bouncing forwards, she went for a much more playful if-not-tomboyish punch to her returned friend’s shoulder. “You’re back! Bout time too, with all the changes going on round here I was beginning to wonder if you ever would.”

She had been the new girl in the barracks when Yuuki had left, now she was the grizzled veteran. Throwing herself into every fight with that same reckless abandon that she had when she first stepped in the door, Moe had earned herself a fair few scars and bruises that he might be able to pick up on with a practiced eye, but perhaps the most telling of marks was one that he could only glimpse at. Bandages peeked out from under her shihakusho, wrapping around her chest to cover the area on her back where Shishiyuki had nearly punched her. It was quite humiliating, to have been felled without even landing a blow of her own, but that didn’t mean she would ever hide her shame.

“I ain’t the best person to be asking I’m afraid.” Moe guffawed, as she rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. “Didn’t exactly get much of a chance to talk to her before she put me through the floor, but I did catch her talking about some kind of assessment. Something to do with Officer Kurata, apparently.”

"Well peace ain't exactly the Death Division's style, is it? If we're left waiting around without a challenge for too long then our blades'll go dull, that's what the Captain says anyway. Oh! Have you met the new boss yet? I mean, maybe you have, officer business and all that, but she's a pretty big deal you know?"

As per usual, Moe's mouth ran as fast as ever and it certainly seemed like no injuries were slowing her down. It was a part of her upbeat charm, or so some people had said before she slapped them upside their heads lest they start thinking she was some kind of mascot. But maybe she was compensating because she couldn't help Yuuki much when it came to matters concerning Shishiyuki. There was little she had seen before it happened and even less that she remembered afterwards.

"You won't catch me backing down if she comes knocking again! I'll give her some Machihara thunder next time, for sure, and I've been training hard to make sure no one gets me like that again. So don't worry, you can stand behind me and be proud." Her earnest bravado had certainly not changed at all since last they spoke, still the little girl believed quite adamantly that she could and would take on the world and the prospect of failure remained an alien concept.

"As for Officer Kurata, yeah I've heard people say stuff like that but I also never saw it with my own eyes. To me, she's always pushing herself to her limits, and I respect that kinda attitude but perhaps it rankled a few people the wrong way. Regardless, she's my squadmate and if I hear people throwing shade her way then they're also throwing shade our way."

Moe's eyebrows raised upwards almost comically as Yuuki cringed at the mention of their division name. She was all about division pride, after all, it had defined who she was these past few months. So her face scrunched up a little but she didn't want to kick up a fuss, perhaps they were simply not quite used to the term yet. It had taken a while to grow on a few other people too.

"Well she's hard as nails, and won't tolerate weakness, so you should get by just fine." Her eyes positively twinkled as he mentioned a second round, that livewire energy unable to be contained even as her body still healed. "Oh, there'll be a second time. I won't stand for anyone looking down on me or our squad, so even if I can't beat her yet I'll clobber some respect into her tooth and nail if I have to."

If people had once thought the division was just a bunch of thugs then Moe could not help but wish that she could have seen those days, they sounded mighty fun and as good a place as any to crack some skulls in the name of the Gotei. She had heard plenty of people talking about Captain Zaraki though, another that she wanted to meet so that she could eventually surpass, but that was a long way down the line. For now, she had her goals and her Captain would help her get there, she was sure of it.

"Pfft, don't trust anything said out of Division, Yuuki. That's a rookie mistake, and the Captain won't like it if she gets wind of silly rumours like that. But, uh, as far as actual news goes. Well, we got a new Vice-Captain, kinda. Rio Shihoin. She joined the division to hang out with me but the Captain sensed that she had some strength to her and Vice Captain Hanako has been taking a bit of an extended leave lately. So I guess you could say I'm responsible for us getting a Shihoin on staff." Moe puffed out her chest as a smug smile spread across her face. "And there's also been all this Africa business. But that's hardly gossip really, it's just the job we're likely gonna be stuck dealing with."