Sunny-Side Down, Please [Komugi, Koga]

The familiar song of insects welcomed the embrace of night - her domain to work and play. The warm glow of lights strung along the pathway dotted Komugi's path, the wee beast on her way through for some business in Eighth - sure they were the support but it never hurt to support the support! At least when there was some down time and she already got her crew.

Her arms were extended away from her body at a right angle, her face adorned with a broad smile; she was plain ol in a good mood after catching sight of her big cousin Taro, gave him the fattest hug she could manage with her teeny arms, so happy to still see him well and healthy. Things were scary just a few years ago, but now it feels relatively better!

Apparently they needed somebody to help make sure the training grounds were in order for the next day? She didn't question it, after having gone through to get a better eyeful of the barracks - they really did a great job putting this place together! She wished first looked a little less stuffy, but it did net her the most money with the position she managed to get...

"Look what the cat dragged in. Yo, long time no see, Komu."

In the distance, the feline Shinigami would catch the imposing figure of a scarred men who was inspecting the training grounds. Since he wasn't a seated member, instead of paperwork, he was tasked with overlooking the things his peers might miss during the day. Far cry from what he did in the eleventh, but that was fine. He didn't mind. Were the training swords in the right place?

Maybe. He didn't want to say check yet. Truth be told, he wasn't exactly the tidiest person, but he wouldn't dare admit he was ill-suited for the job. His pride wouldn't let him. At any rate, he saw the feline guest and decided to approach her with a wave of the hand. What was she doing here, anyway?

"Paying a visit or are ya here on urgent business?"

Her tail went stiff when the voice of another pricked her ears, turning to look upon a familiar, scruffy face. She'd squint, cheeks puffed, "For the millionth time its MUGI! MUGI! What the heck's a Komu?!"

That indignation seemed to be shortlived as she'd burst into a belly laugh, waving a hand, "Kidding kidding, not that serious~! Also i'll have you know I am the cat here!"

She'd do a little hop to slap Koga on the back in a friendly gesture, grinning ear to ear, "Konbanwa Koga-kun~! I'm just here to help out with getting the grounds organized for the next day. Didn't think anyone else would be here, at least I wasn't told..."

Her ears flattened for a second as her eyes slit with her gaze to the ground, her foot lightly tapping the ground, "Ohh that BETTER have not been a prank, else I got quite the paper to write for time-wasting."

"Fine, fine. How about Mukogi, then? Is that better, Cat Lady?"

He retorted with a chuckle, lightly teasing the woman as he reached out to ruffle her ears. Compared to the relative silence, her energetic greeting was a breath of fresh air. Since he was one to grow restless if things got incredibly silent, he wasn't going to complain about having an extra hand to assist him with his current task. Turning his gaze in his barracks direction, he shrugged as he turned back to her with a grin.

"Hell if I know. I'm just inspecting stuff for the next day and cleaning around. Since I'm not a seated member yet, I figure I can still put myself to use by makin' sure things are on the up and up. Hell of a lot easier than paperwork, ya know?"

He humored, wholly aware of his limitations in that regard. He was a fighter at heart, after all.

"Komugi, Mugi, or perish," She could never do Nara-chan's death glare properly, her eyes were too big and bright for it; looked more like a dissatisfied squint than a gaze hungry for your blood. Pushing his hand away, she'd huff. Wished she got the fox curse instead of the allergic-to-sunlight cat curse in some ways...

Hands on her hips, she'd sigh and shrug, a smile returning to her bright face, "Welp, bellyaching isn't gonna get this place in order," She'd go on to get her hands on the nearest broom, "Let's get a move on then!"

Though, as she'd start sweeping, it was good time to let her mouth run as she was curious about her comrades' current goingarounds, "So why Eighth? Combat's still a thing ya know; well don't get me wrong, i'm only in First for the paycheck, heh."

"Alright, alright. Mugi, it is. Rolls off the tongue better than Komu, anyway. Let's get these chores squared away so I can grab a bite to eat."

Koga chortled softly at her attempt to appear intimidated. Grinning from ear to ear, he followed the energetic feline as he returned to his nearby location, overlooking the wooden swords for any disrepancies. After all, he couldn't have his division mates making excuses during training, even more so if he was responsible for making things flow smoothly during training. At her question, he tilted his head as he reflected on his decision. He could've resumed his time in the combat division. He recognized that as well as anyone, but...

"Told myself I'd never call anyone else captain in the former eleventh but Kenpachi Zaraki. The combat division of today is nothin' like the one I came to love. Sides, I wanted a fresh start. Is this division suited to any of my talents? Hell no, but it's precisely cause of that that i find it so entertaining. I love challenging myself. It's what keeps me goin'."

Grinning back at her, he flashed a finger in his direction as he wished to explore his own curiosity about her life in the 1st. That was the place with a lot of paperwork, wasn't it? He couldn't imagine that was exactly the most fitting for a gal like her, good paycheck or not.

"Anywho, nuff' bout me for now. What made the 1st appealin' beyond the paycheck? With all that energy and zeal, I think you would've fit in here or the seventh far more. I can't say that would ever be my choice unless I wanted to challenge my brain, so I'm curious. Anything else made ya bite or is the pay just that good?"

Hmm, guess that made sense. All the guys under Kenpachi Zaraki seemed to love em to bits, not that she met the guy. The way others talked about him reminded her of her uncle; big scary guy, but with some sense of honor. Though, Uncle didn't really like fighting very much, he just did it because that's what you had to do in the farther districts to survive, especially if you needed to eat.

"Well," Her tail was a'swishing as she swept the dust and debris; whoever was training in here today must've really been gunning it, "I left for a bit a few years ago - which is why you didn't see me for a mo'. When I came back, First's offer had the highest seat position I could take. Soo, I took it!"

Her tail swished about with her flowing language, as if to enunciate her points, "Plus I like staying on home turf. If i'm away too long the place smells n' feels weird. Plus you have NO IDEA how annoying it is dodging humans who wanna pet your animal-shaped gigai, like really?! I took the effort to sew 'Do not pet' on my pack! Still get the occasional kiddo with sticky fingers trying to touch me, bleugh!"

A little hiss followed her indignant noise.

"Guess the cute cat hates being treated like an actual feline. Ha! Who would've thought?"

He humored, repositioning each practice sword on the large stand, ensuring that each wooden blade was in proper alignment and that there wasn't any chip in their structure. After all, the last thing he wanted to see was his fellow division mates making excuses during training. The highest position, huh?

He definitely wasn't going to fault her for seizing an opportunity like that. Reflecting on his position, he recognized he could've likely pushed for a high position in the combat division based on his resume, but then that would've just been boring. He wanted to challenge himself and rise through the ranks elsewhere, under a different captain. Speaking of captains, he wondered what hers was like.

"What's the Captain Commander like? I hear a lot about her but never met her personally. I know Old Man Yama was strict as hell, which makes me wonder what she's like in comparison."

"Yahh, shock surprise." A flash of her tongue signaled her disdain; she was used to people having all manner of polarizing ideas of how to treat her, from treating her like some poor sweet alleycat to a despicable criminal incapable of becoming anything more than a beast. Koga's own attitudes weren't her favorite all the time, but it was better than most's patronizing attitudes. Just because she was short and feline-y doesn't mean she wants to be treated like a baby! She could beat most of their asses no problem...

Dust pile, dust pile... AH! Chew! She rubbed her nose after the brief squeak of a sneeze; ugh, her poor sinuses... She wasn't being careful with the dusting. Oh well, where's that pAHChew! She should've challenged him to a quick Janken game for the right to do something else...

"Ohh, the Captain Commander? I don't think i've gotten many opportunities to meet her personally..." She'd rub her nose, "I wasn't really here for Captain Kyoraku, so I dunno what the difference is between them... I think she's nice. Kinda scary, I haven't been around her very much, can't say I have a real idea of her yet."

Finishing pushing the dust carefully into a pan, she'd look his way, "What about you? How's your Captain?"

"Scary, huh? Can't say I got that impression from catchin' a glance at her, but then again, my sense of fear's kinda' fucked, anyway."

Koga shrugged his shoulders with a shit-eating grin as he finished placing the swords in their positions. Everything looked fine. No chips in the practice blades, the section was pristine and clear without any speck of dust, and his peers would have no excuses tomorrow during training. Just the way he wanted it. When the question of his own captain crossed his ears, he turned his head back in Komugi's direction as he pondered his thought for a moment. Honestly? The first word that came to mind was flamboyance. From the unique way he spoke to his creative expression, Rose was a supremely significant departure from Zaraki Kenpachi. Chorting softly, he leaned against a wall.

"Flamboyant as hell. Kinda girly, too. He sure as hell isn't what I'm used to, but he gets the job done, and I think it's pretty cool he plays the guitar. I've been thinkin' of learning how to play one myself one day. Who knows?Maybe I'll start a really cool metal band in Soul Society. Pfft..."