Playground Rules [Lerna, Moe]

The training grounds of the Fighting Fourth was a real melting pot of souls from every corner of the Soul Society and beyond, a place where personalities and cultures collided in a constant cycle of competition to see who would come out on top. If you were strong then people were forced to look up to you and respect you, and you knew that everyone was giving it their all to be the best that they could be. That was where Moe felt at home, brawling with her comrades to assert dominance and maybe -just maybe- catch the Captain’s eye.

But it was not only members of the Death Division that came to their barracks to practice, there were Shinigami from every division that came here to test their mettle against the best. It also meant that the place usually got filled out pretty quick, so even a fighter as tenacious as Moe had to sit by the sidelines from time to time and wait for something to free up. If nothing else, that gave her some time to assess the competition. Plenty of people might overlook her given her stature, but she was more than happy to knock them down to her level if she thought it might be a good match.

“Always fun to watch some fresh meat get inducted into the Death Division mindset.”

She spoke before even looking in the direction of who had called out to her, if they had even been talking to her or trying to engage with someone else in her general area. Naturally, Moe had assumed it was directed at her, but she was also engrossed in one of the ongoing matches. After a moment, she peeled her eyes away and looked for the speaker. Finding herself settling upon a stranger, her lips curled into a boyish smile as she puffed her chest out.

“You’re from the Seventh, aintcha? I heard there were a bunch of you folks dropping by today. Glad to see that some of the other Divisions have spirit too.”

Looking Lerna up and down, it was clear that Moe was getting a measure of the other woman as they spoke. Their physiques could hardly be any more different and yet a determination burned clear as day in those pink orbs she had for eyes.

“Name’s Machihara, but most people call me Moe. What’s your story?”

It was an invasive thing to ask, and yet she did so brazenly. There was no care about her for niceties or respect unless it was earned; so right now anything goes when they’re on the yard.

Moe’s ears pricked up at the mention of Lerna’s position, only growing more quizzical as she continued. Wasn’t every day you met a fourth seat in the wild, after all.

“Whaddya mean you’re still in the academy? Like you teach or do they have you going back for extra classes?”

Her confusion continued as a hand was suddenly thrust into her face. She paused for a moment, disarmed by the earnestness of the other woman, before reaching out to grasp it firmly with her own. Her smile only widened, though she did not shake and instead continued to just hold onto Lerna’s hand until she showed her what to do.

“So you’re in charge of this rabble then? Well, I suppose you could say the same about me. I ain’t got no fancy number yet, but the Captain’s just waiting for the right opportunity I’m sure.”

Now that was entirely stretching the truth, or just a straight up lie, but it wasn’t like it would hurt anyone. Moe was sure she would make officer eventually, so why not show off a little? Besides, this cryptic blonde was hardly going to know the difference.

“Huh?” Moe’s confusion was quite readily apparent as Lerna broke away from educating her on the mannerisms of a proper handshake. But it wasn’t the gesture that had her so vexed as much as it was the woman herself. “Ya made Fourth Seat in a year, you’re only a substitute, and they haven’t even let you out of the academy yet? Man, even I can’t quite compete with that kinda prodigy, geez.”

There was an unmistakable deflation from the already diminutive Moe, like this friendly little competition had suddenly soared way over her head. Maybe she’d misjudged all the Seventh Division if they were all built as crazy as Lady Koizumi and this. But, with every new hurdle came another mountain to climb over, and Moe had to dig deep to find that spark again and rekindle it.

“And I’m not an officer yet, but I will be. That’s a Machihara guarantee! I’ve sparred with a couple of our seated officers, even beat the Vice-Captain once - though I reckon they were going easy on me, but it’s never been a proper challenge or anything like that. Besides, most of our people have been down on Earth helping out your lot with this hole disaster, so it’s put a hold on those kind of things. We ain’t savages.”

Now that she said it out loud, it did feel like she was making excuses. Ducking out of a fight was not her style, but had she been doing it subconsciously? Maybe she just needed someone to really push her.

“I guess you were right, it does all sound a bit unbelievable. Just what the heck are ya?”

It was rare to find something that could truly just take her mind of the various brawls happening around them, but Moe was more than a little invested now. It was like the start of a story, and one of those cool ones that you weren’t aloud to read when you were a kid because it was too scary.

“All the time too? Wow, you must have gotten one swell spirit in there. My special friend usually only teases me when I'm getting stuff wrong or gets all smug when I realise something she's known for ages."

Again, that was a liberal interpretation the truth concerning Shinsho's advice, but it was influenced more by Moe's own thoughts on the matter than a need to gloat about her accomplishments. The spirit certainly wasn't all that talkative with Moe unless she took the time to pander to her, but when roused she did generally try to help her.

"Is every officer in the Seventh just weird? I fought Lady Koizumi when she stopped by the barracks a while back and she was also pretty metal."